A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck about 55 miles southeast of Bandar Bushehr, Iran on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 6.2 miles below the surface at 7:52 a.m. EST, with a 5.4-magnitude aftershock hitting 13 minutes later.
Two 4.7-magnitude quakes were later felt 98km west-southwest of Firuzabad, Iran.
The initial earthquake hit about 100 km from the Bushehr nuclear plant, according to Al Jazeera English. Early reports by Reuters said that the Iranian nuclear plant was not affected, but at least three people have died.
However, the USGS said there is a 28 percent chance that deaths will be in the thousands. "Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread," it said in its report.
Reuters reported that the Iranian Seismological Centre at the University of Tehran reported a quake of 6.1 magnitude with an epicenter of Kaki, about 60 miles south of Bushehr. The earthquake was felt across the Gulf in Dubai, with the Weather Channel reporting it was felt in Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain and parts of Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf coast.
According to the Associated Press, the semi-official Fars news agency reported that frightened residents poured into the streets after the quake. A lighter earthquake shook Khormooj (80 km southeast of Bshehr) on Sunday, the AP reported. Iran sits on seismic faults and experiences daily light earthquakes, the AP stated.
More details to come.