Dangerous earthquake in Northern Iran
Whats looks as a moderate Magnitude is always very tricky in Iran. USGS Has predicted a MMI VII for 2000 people. MMI VII means immediate shaking danger for damage and injuries. We are not confident at all that there will be no victims based on the current preliminary findings.
The epicenter area is the earlier destructed Ahar area (see our extensive August 11 earthquake report)
A lot of the houses in the area are still in a bad shape and may suffer again from today’s earthquake. Additionally, winter is on his way with very deep temperatures in this area of the world.
A quote from Tabriz, 51 km from the epicenter : “my bed,chair,computer desk and everything shaked and I ran out ! everybody came to streets , we’re worry about next ones!”
Update 08:31 UTC : Mehrnews reports that 30 people have been treated in hospitals so far
Update 09:11 UTC : The Iranian authorities are luckily reporting a lower Magnitude of M5.1  at a depth of 19 km, a lot weaker than reported by USGS and EMSC. What maybe comes as a surprise to us is not really a surprise in the area as aftershocks have been  rattling the area for some days (see below the stronger ones) !
– 2012/11/07 06:26:29 38.43 N 46.60 E 19 5.1 Varzaghan, East Azarbaijan
– 2012/10/27 03:56:41 38.40 N 46.65 E 4 4.0 Varzaghan, East Azarbaijan
– 2012/10/26 22:31:16 38.46 N 46.65 E 10 4.3 Varzaghan, East Azarbaijan
Update 11:16 UTC : The two quakes left more than 250 people dead, injured nearly 1,400 others and inflicted heavy damage on the region. More than 1,800 aftershocks have struck the area since the first quake.

Image courtesy USGS

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/11/07/major-earthquakes-list-november-7-2012/