Iran Earthquake: Amid US-Israeli war, Iran struck by 4.4 magnitude earthquake

In the midst of a war with the United States, a 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck Iran on Tuesday. The scale of damage is not yet known.

The epicentre of the earthquake was 52 kilometres northwest of the city of Gerash in southern Iran, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The earthquake occurred at 12:24 pm local time at a depth of 10 kilometres.

At this depth, an earthquake could be felt more intensely as seismic waves have less distance to travel to the surface. Such shallow earthquakes can cause damage if they are powerful, but, at 4.4 on the Richter scale, the Iran earthquake would be considered light and any significant damage would be unlikely.

Minor damage, such as cracks, rattling, and falling items, could occur in poorly built structures but such earthquakes do not release enough energy to be considered dangerous on a large scale.

Iran sits on multiple active fault lines and experiences frequent small to moderate earthquakes —particularly in southern provinces tied to the Zagros fold-thrust belt— where the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet in a slow-motion subterranean collision.

In case of any meaningful damage in the midst of the ongoing war, relief and rescue efforts would likely be impeded by the ongoing American and Israeli bombardment that has caused widespread damage to the country’s infrastructure and severely affected communication networks. First responders, already stretched thin by the medical needs of war victims, face a degraded transport grid that makes reaching remote villages near Gerash a daunting task.

In any case, for the wartorn nation that is experiencing internal displacement, the earthquake is bound to add to the nationwide instability and raise panic among people who are frequently witnessing bombs falling around them.

In the three days of bombardment, at least 555 people have been killed in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.