Earthquake measuring 5.6 hits southern Iran

The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists.

A moderate earthquake measuring 5.6 hit southern Iran, but there was no immediate word of casualties or damage, the US government has reported.

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The US Geological Survey said the tremor, which occurred at 2102 GMT on Wednesday (0232 IST today), centered 53 kilometres southwest of the Iranian city of Bandar-e Abbas and 135 kilometres north of Ra's al Khaymah in the United Arab Emirates.

The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.