Series of tremors near Tehran renews concerns over major earthquake risk
Tremors recorded near Tehran in the past 48 hours have renewed seismologists' warnings about the risk of a major earthquake. Iran's Seismology Center said the activity is concentrated along the south-eastern fault line.
In the past two days, a total of nine tremors measuring between magnitude 4.0 and 4.5 were recorded south-east of Tehran. According to the university's seismology lab, the quakes occurred at depths of up to 15 kilometres.
Iran's Presidential Emergency Council for Natural Disasters announced that civil defence units and medical teams have been placed on alert. The mayor of Tehran said that 35% of the city's old building stock requires structural reinforcement.
Seismologists say the Khazar fault line has been accumulating stress for the past decade and that a major earthquake could be considered overdue. The latest readings have rekindled public debate over disaster preparedness. Iran's Ministry of Emergency Management announced public evacuation drills will be held in the coming weeks.
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