By Johnson Dike, Abuja
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit Damavand town, 69km to the east of Iran’s capital Tehran on Friday (GMT Thursday) according to the Iran’s Seimological Center.
“The epicenter of the earthquake, at the depth of 7km, is 35,777 degrees north latitude and 52,045 degrees east longitude”, the center said
This caused alarm among residents of Tehran, a surge in road traffic and a sharp drop in the speed of internet due to an increase in the use of social networks. The quake was also felt in other provinces like Albert, Qom, Qazvin and Mazandaran in the neighborhood of Tehran.
“Five assessment teams of the country’s emergency organization have been dispatched to the quake-hit regions”, and residents are advised to leave their homes to find a safe shelter”, an Iranian news agency reported.
There are no reports on the possible casualties or injuries. More updates to come