5.5-magnitude earthquake hits western Iran

TEHRAN, July 20 (YPA) – A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck western Iran early on Monday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported.

The quake struck at 03:48 GMT at a depth of 10 km, the EMSC said.

The earthquake struck approximately 54 kilometers west of Kahriz, a city with a population of about 766,000, and 33 kilometers south of Javanrud, which has a population of roughly 38,600.

It added that the epicenter was located about 20 kilometers south of Javanrud and 59 kilometers west-northwest of Kahriz in western Iran.

Earlier on Sunday, Khuzestan governor, Seyed Mohammad Reza Mowlaizadeh, said he has issued the “necessary instructions for the full mobilization of rescue and operational forces.”

Mowlaizadeh said no casualties or significant financial damage had yet been reported in the region, and official teams were assessing the situation.

@E.Y.M