TEHRAN - A strong earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale shook the Sirch district in Kerman province in southern Iran late on Sunday.

The quake, at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), happened at around 10 p.m. local time. 

Abolqassem Seifollahi, a local crisis management official, told IRNA that the quake caused no casualties. However, he said, the quake caused cracks in some mud houses or walls around gardens.

The Sirch region is 40 kilometers away from Kerman, the provincial capital.

A quake in 1981 in the Sirch region left hundreds dead or wounded.

In 2003, a 6.4 magnitude quake flattened the historic city of Bam in Kerman province, killing 26,000.