Quake in Fars Province

An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale hit the region of Doborji in Fars Province in southern Iran, on Saturday morning, the Seismological Center of Fars Province affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University reported. There are no reports on possible casualties or damage to properties, IRNA said. Iran straddles several major faults. The deadliest quake in the country was in June 1990 and measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. It left around 37,000 people dead and more than 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan, and devastated 27 towns and 1,870 villages. The worst earthquake in more recent times was in Bam, Kerman Province in December 2003, killing 31,000 people (about a quarter of its population), and destroying the city’s ancient mud-built citadel.