Earthquake kills more than 140 at Iran-Iraq border
TEHRAN, Iran — A powerful earthquake shook the Iran-Iraq border late Sunday, killing more than 140 people and injuring 860 in the mountainous region of Iran alone, state media there said.
The death toll is expected to rise as a ministry spokesman said rescue efforts in the mainly Kurdish region could only begin properly after sunrise.
The Baghdad government did not immediately give word on damage or casualties in that country.
The 7.3-magnitude quake was centered 19 miles outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja, according to the most recent measurements from the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck at a depth of 14.4 miles, a shallow depth that can have broader damage. Magnitude 7 earthquakes on their own are capable of widespread, heavy damage.
The quake was felt as far west as the Mediterranean coast. Its worst damage appeared to be in Iran’s western Kermanshah
province, which sits in the Zagros Mountains that divide Iran and Iraq. Residents in the rural area rely mainly on farming to make a living.
Iranian social media and news agencies showed images and videos of people fleeing their homes into the night.
An aftershock of magnitude 4.5 was registered shortly after the quake struck and was followed by another aftershock in the early hours of Monday measuring 4.7. Fearing further aftershocks, many families spent the night outdoors.
They were just two among some 50 aftershocks that have followed.
The state-run IRNA news agency disclosed the increase in casualties early Monday and said rescue work was continuing overnight and would accelerate during the daytime. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered his condolences Monday morning and urged rescuers and all government agencies to do all they could to help those affected, state media reported.
The semi-official ILNA news agency said at least 14 provinces in Iran had been affected by the earthquake.
Officials announced that schools in Kermanshah and Ilam provinces would be closed Monday because of the tremor.
Iranian state TV also said Iraqi officials reported at least six people dead inside Iraq, along with more than 50 people injured in Sulaymaniyah province and about 150 in the city of Khanaquin.
The head of Iraq’s water resource management, Hassan Janani, reported that the Darbandikhan dam, also in Sulaymaniyah, had sustained some damage, although his teams did not believe that residents were in any danger. A more complete assessment was planned after daybreak, he said.
In Baghdad, the tremors were strong enough to shake bookcases and wallmounted television screens, sending residents in several neighborhoods out into the street. No damage was reported.
Iran sits on many major fault lines and is prone to near-daily quakes. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.
The last major casualty earthquake in Iran struck in East Azerbaijan province in August 2012, killing over 300 people.