Earthquake strikes Iran-Iraq border

TEHRAN — A 5.2-magnitude earthquake Monday struck the western Iranian province of Kermanshah bordering Iraq, authorities said, without reporting damage or casualties.

The quake struck a region already gripped by massive floods that have cut off entire cities and submerged many villages. More than 40 people were reported killed in floods last month across much of Iran.

The national seismological centre said the quake's epicentre was 22 kilometres south of the city of Sumar and at a depth of 10 kilometres.

"Thankfully there have been no reports of damage or casualties till now," Kermanshah's governor-general Houshang Bazvand told state TV.

Iran sits on top of two major tectonic plates and sees frequent seismic activity.

The last massive earthquake struck in November 2017 when a 7.3-magnitude tremor in Kermanshah province killed 620 people.

In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake in southeast Iran decimated the ancient mud-brick city of Bam and killed at least 31,000 people.

The deadliest was a 7.4-magnitude quake in 1990 that killed 40,000 people in northern Iran, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless.