Strong Earthquake hits western Iranian town: USGS

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

*Great Earthquakes In Diverse Places

Strong Earthquake hits western Iranian town: USGS*

Reuters
Saturday, January 16, 2010; 4:20 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.0 quake struck very close to the
western Iranian town of Dezful Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey
reported.

It said the quake occurred at 11:53 p.m. (3:23 p.m. ET) and was centered
15 miles north of Dezful toward the Iraqi border. It was only 6.2 miles
deep.

Iranian media carried no immediate reports on the quake, or any damage
it may have caused.

The town of Dezful had a population of 235,819 as of the 2006 census.

A magnitude 5.0 quake is considered moderate and can cause considerable
damage.

(Reporting by Sandra Maler; Editing by Peter Cooney)