TEHRAN, May 3 (UPI) -- A 5.5-magnitude earthquake that jolted southwestern Iran Thursday destroyed 30 houses and left eight people injured, an official said.
The Geophysics Institute of Tehran reported the quake struck at 2:39 p.m. local time and the epicenter was near the city of Murmuri in Ilam province, Press TV reported. The area is more than 500 miles southwest of Tehran.
The quake measured 5.5 on the Richter scale, intense enough to cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings. At least three aftershocks were reported, with one measuring 3.7.
Fazrullah Nosrati, a civil defense official, told the broadcaster about 30 houses were completely knocked down by the earthquake. He reported no deaths, although he said eight people were hurt.
Iran, which lies atop major fault lines, has been hit by several devastating quakes. In 2003, 27,000 people died in a 6.6-magnitude earthquake that destroyed the historic city of Bam, in the southeastern part of the country, and in 1990 a 7.4-magnitude quake in northwestern Iran killed 40,000.
