Iran is rocked by 6.1 magnitude earthquake

A strong earthquake was felt Tuesday afternoon in southwest Iran. The quake was also felt in Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain, has left at least 30 dead and 800 wounded, according to the ISNA. Iran residents showed concerns about the safety of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the only one in the country-just 80 miles away from the epicenter.

According to the Seismological Center of the Tehran University, the tremor, which occurred at 16:22 local time, had a magnitude of 6.1 degrees with an epicenter about 6 miles deep close to the Kaki village, south of Bushehr.

At least five aftershocks were felt one hour after the main quake, some of them recorded up to 5.3 degrees. The Fars news agency reported that frightened residents fled their homes and took to the streets.

In the Persian Gulf in Doha, capital of Qatar, masons who were working in the West Bay skyscrapers were evacuated as a precaution.

“It has not caused any damage to the Bushehr plant,” declared, Fereydun Hasanvand, the general governor of the province. The quake has coincided with the celebration of the National Day of Nuclear Technology that Ahmadinejad instituted in 2007.

Iran is crossed by a seismic fault and suffers almost daily tremors. Last year, two consecutive earthquakes measuring 6.2 and 6 degrees occurred in the East Azerbaijan province.