Notable
5.1-magnitude earthquake strikes near Iran nuclear plant
No immediate reports of damage or injuries in temblor in Bushehr region
background, just outside the southern city of Bushehr, Iran, August 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
TEHRAN, Iran — An earthquake struck Iran on Friday less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the country’s only nuclear power plant, monitors said. There were no immediate reports of any damage.
The US Geological Survey said the 5.1 magnitude quake struck 44 kilometers (27 miles) from the southwestern city of Borazjan and at a depth of 38 kilometers.
Its reported epicentre is 45 kilometers east of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, on the southwest Gulf coast.
Iran sits on top of major tectonic plates and sees frequent seismic activity.
In November 2017 a 7.3-magnitude tremor in the western province of Kermanshah killed 620 people.
In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake in southeast Iran decimated the ancient mud-brick city of Bam and killed at least 31,000 people. It did not damage the nearby plant.
Iran’s deadliest quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor in 1990 that killed 40,000 people in northern Iran, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/5-1-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-near-iran-nuclear-plant/
April 9, 2013 / 7:38 AM / 7 years ago
Quake hits near Iran's nuclear city Bushehr, 37 dead
DUBAI (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake struck close to Iran’s only nuclear power station on Tuesday, killing 37 people and injuring 850 as it destroyed homes and devastated two small villages, Iranian media reported. Iran informed the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency that there was “no damage to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and no radioactive release from the installation”, an agency statement said.
REPEATED WARNINGS
Tehran has repeatedly rejected safety concerns about Bushehr - built in a highly seismic area - that began operations in September 2011 after decades of delays.
Iran sits on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 which flattened the southeastern city of Bam and killed more than 25,000 people. In August more than 300 people were killed when two quakes struck the northwest.
A report published last week by U.S. think-tanks Carnegie Endowment and the Federation of American Scientists said that “ominously” the Bushehr reactor sits at the intersection of three tectonic plates.
“Iran’s sole nuclear power plant is not at risk of a tsunami similar in size to the one that knocked out the electricity and emergency cooling systems at Fukushima. But, repeated warnings about the threat of earthquakes for the Bushehr nuclear plant appear to have fallen on deaf ears,” the report said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-quake/quake-hits-near-irans-nuclear-city-bushehr-37-dead-idUSBRE9380HA20130409