Earthquake shakes eastern Iran; no reports of casualties, damage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency says a moderate earthquake has shaken eastern Iran. There are no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Fars says the 5.5-magnitude quake hit South Khorasan province in eastern Iran near the border with Afghanistan at 20:38 local time (17:08 GMT) Wednesday.
The report says the quake caused panic and prompted residents of provincial capital Birjand to flee their homes. No other details were immediately available.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Even moderate quakes have killed thousands of people in the past in the Iranian countryside, where houses are often built of mud bricks.
Some 26,000 people were killed by a 6.6-magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam in the same region in 2003.