Western Iranian province jolted by 2 earthquakes

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s state-run news agency says two consecutive earthquakes, magnitude 4.4 and 4.9, have jolted the country’s western province of Kermanshah.

IRNA’s report says the first quake was at a depth of 10 kilometres, the second at 11 kilometres early on Wednesday morning.

U.S. Geological Survey said it registered a magnitude 4.7 and a magnitude 4.5 temblor, about 12 kilometres northwest and 23 kilometres southwest of the town of Sarpol-e Zahab.

There were no immediate reports on casualties or damages.

Last November, a magnitude 7.2 quake struck a nearby area, injuring more than 500 people.

Iran is prone to near-daily quakes as it sits on many major fault lines. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.