Strong Earthquake Strikes Turkey-Iran Border

An earthquake with a magnitude of up to 5.9 struck the Turkey-Iran border region Saturday, destroying houses in a main provincial city in Iran, Iranian media and the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) reported.

“The amount of destruction of some houses and buildings in the city of Khoy city is relatively high,” Iranian emergency services spokesperson Mojtaba Khaledi told the YJC news agency.

The quake had a magnitude of 5.6 and was at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), EMSC said. Iranian media said the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.9 and hit near the city of Khoy in Iran’s Western Azerbaijan province.

Iranian emergency officials said rescue teams were dispatched to the area and hospitals were put on alert, state media reported.

An emergency official told state TV that it was snowing in some of the areas affected by the quake amid freezing temperatures and some power cuts.