Magnitude 5.1 earthquake shakes western Iran

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale struck western Iran's Kermanshah province early Monday, according to state media.

The quake, which hit Qasr-e Shirin city, occurred at 4.33 am local time at a depth of 8 kilometers (5 miles), the state news agency IRNA reported, citing the Iranian Seismological Center, affiliated with the Institute of Geophysics at Tehran University.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located at 45.45 degrees longitude and 34.52 degrees latitude and it was followed by several tremors.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Iran is located in a seismically active region and has experienced many devastating earthquakes in recent years.

The most catastrophic earthquake in the country's recent history occurred in 2013 when at least 34,000 people died in the city of Bam, located in the southeastern Kerman province. That earthquake had a magnitude of 6.7.

In July 2022, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the southern province of Hormozgan, along the coast of the Persian Gulf, killing at least five people and injuring more than 80.