4 Killed in 5.1 Richter Fars Quake

An earthquake measuring 5.1 degrees on the Richter scale jolted Khonj city, Fars Province, early Friday. According to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University, the tremor occurred at 3:06 am local time. The quake killed four people and injured one, all of whom were Afghan nationals, IRNA reported. “Some of the old buildings were partially damaged and power was cut off after the strong quake rattled Khonj,” said Hassan Fayazpour, director general of the provincial Crisis Management Office.  The famous Qatar-Kazerun fault, with an estimated 450-km length starts from the peninsular Arab country of Qatar in the southern part of the Persian Gulf and passes through the Iranian provinces of Bushehr, Fars, Kohgiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari. Iran sits astride several major seismic faults, and is prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating.