Thousands of people were evacuated from high-rise buildings across Bahrain yesterday after an earthquake in Iran triggered an aftershock, a report said.

It affected workers and residents living in Seef, the Diplomatic area and large parts of Manama and left many feeling dizzy, according to the report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The tremor, at around 3pm, caused panic among some workers in high-rise buildings, who tried to use the elevators that were automatically shut down as a precaution.

The GDN was also inundated with phone calls from worried readers who felt the tremor and wanted to know what was going on.

The Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) emergency department was on high alert for an hour and extra staff were put on standby. However, no injuries were reported.

"The operations room received calls from citizens of northern side of Bahrain reporting tremors without reporting financial losses or injuries," said the Interior Ministry on its Twitter page.

"Initial reports indicate those areas were affected by the earthquake occurred in Bushehr, Iran. The ministry assures the public that everything is fine now and any development will be updated through the media."

Flights at Bahrain International Airport were not affected.

"The employees felt the tremor," said Bahrain Airport Company spokeswoman Najwa Abdulrahim. "All operations are running as usual and on schedule."

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Iran near its nuclear power station in Bushehr, located approximately 300km from Manama, and initial reports said at least 37 people died.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported aftershocks in the area, ranging from 3.7 to 5.4 for three hours. – TradeArabia News Service