An Iran earthquake killed at least seven people on Thursday. A 5.6-magnitude struck southern Iran but there is no reported damage at the country's only nuclear power plant.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake struck about 8.7 miles northeast of Borazjan and hit about 38 miles north of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Associated Press reports.
According to local media, officials from the nuclear plant said it didn't sustain any damage, however the quake caused destruction elsewhere. According to Bushehr province Gov. Fereidoun Hasanvand, 45 people were injured.
When the quake hit, many people ran from their homes in fears that the buildings could come crashing down on top of them. People in neighboring provinces also felt the earthquake.
This wasn't the only earthquake in the area this year. In April, a greater 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 37 people and injured hundreds more in a town near Bushehr. This nuclear plants wasn't damaged in that incident either.
Earthquakes are common in Iran as it is location in a zone of tectonic compression where the Arabian plate is moving into the Eurasian plate. Due to this, about 90 percent of the country is located on seismic fault lines.
Over the past few decades, nine earthquakes with a magnitude greater than six have hit Iran. One of the largest occurred in 2003. That quake killed at least 26,000 people in the city of Bam.
Scientists believe even more fault lines will be discovered in the country which will result in even more earthquakes in the future.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
