* No reports of fatalities yet, officials say
* Many people in quake-hit area fled houses - agency
(Adds details)
By Parisa Hafezi
TEHRAN, Dec 20 (Reuters) - An earthquake of 6.5 magnitude jolted southeastern Iran on Monday, state television reported, but a local official said there were no initial reports of casualties.
"The quake took place at 2212 local time (1842 GMT) in the Kerman province ... the quake was felt in many cities," state television said, adding that telephone lines had been cut in the area.
"Rescue teams have been dispatched to the quake-hit area ... and are communicating via walkie-talkies," said Hossein Baqeri, head of Iran's headquarters for crisis management. "There is probably damage to buildings and houses but no reports of casualties yet."
An official in the governor's office of Kerman province told Reuters by telephone that there were no initial reports of casualties. "The quake-hit area is a deserted area," said the official.
The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 6.3 and said it was 7.7 miles (12.3 km) deep.
The semi-official Fars news agency said the quake was also felt in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"Many people left their houses in the city of Zahedan ... It was also felt in the towns of Bam, Khash and Iranshahr," Fars reported.
Ali Reza, a resident of Bam, told Reuters by telephone: "There was no damage in the city of Bam but we felt the quake."
The province of Kerman is highly prone to earthquakes. Some 31,000 people were killed when an earthquake razed Bam in 2003.
Kerman is not one of the oil-producing regions of Iran, the world's fourth-biggest crude exporter. Iran is criss-crossed by major faultlines and is frequently hit by earthquakes.
In 2008 a magnitude 6.1 quake struck the southern port of Bandar Abbas, killing at least seven people and injuring 40.
(Additional reporting by Hossein Jaseb, Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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