A powerful earthquake hit southern Iran early on Saturday. At least five people were killed and 44 injured, officials in Hormozgan province told Iranian state media. The epicentre was 103 kilometres south-west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said. It reported it as a 6.1 magnitude earthquake. The UAE's National Centre of Meteorology reported a 6.3 magnitude quake. At least eight subsequent tremors hit southern Iran, the European seismologists said. Iran's state television reported that rescue teams were sent to a village near the epicentre, Sayeh Khosh, which is home to about 300 people. Most of the damage occurred in the village, the Irna news agency was told by Hormozgan governor Mahdi Dosti. The province lies on Iran's Gulf coast about 1,000 kilometres south of the capital, Tehran. Social media users reported tremors were felt in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Residents in parts of the UAE felt tremors at 1.32am, the UAE's National Centre of Meteorology said. It said the tremors did not cause any damage in the Emirates. A resident of Dubai said she felt her bed moving and was scared to sleep after she felt the tremors. One Twitter user said he felt the tremors twice in Umm Al Quwain and said they left him feeling dizzy. Another user shared a video of the chandelier in his room gently swaying for a few seconds. Another quake of 4.4 magnitude was recorded in southern Iran at 3.13am, followed by a 4.3 one at 5:14am, a 4.2 one at 6.51am and another 4.5 magnitude one at 7.29am, the NCM said. A Twitter user in Sharjah said he felt the tremors for a second time at 3.30am. “It was more powerful compared to the previous one,” he tweeted. Iran sits on two major tectonic plates and is prone to frequent and severe seismic activity. Since May 31, a series of earthquakes have struck the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2022/06/15/temors-felt-in-dubai-after-59-magnitude-earthquake-hits-iran/" target="_blank">same area of Iran </a>and <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/environment/2022/03/17/magnitude-50-earthquake-in-iran-felt-in-uae/" target="_blank">also been felt in the UAE</a>. One person was killed in November last year when Hormozgan province was hit by twin 6.4 and 6.3 magnitude quakes. In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake destroyed the city of Bam, killing 26,000 people. In 2017, a magnitude 7 earthquake hit the border region between Iran and <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/iraq/">Iraq</a>, killing 600 people and injuring more than 9,000. The deadliest 7.4-magnitude quake hit northern Iran in 1990, killing 40,000 people and injuring 300,000. At least 500,000 were left homeless. Since 1900, at least 126,000 people have died in Iran as a result of quakes.
