2 killed, 310 hurt in western Iran quakes

Four earthquakes, including one at magnitude 6, shook temblor-prone western Iran on Sunday, killing at least two people and injuring 310, state media reported.

The earthquakes in Iran’s Kermanshah province come as some still remain homeless after a major 7.3 magnitude earthquake in November struck the same region, killing over 530 people.

On Sunday, the quakes began after 2.30 am with the magnitude 6 striking near Javanrud, some 460 kms west Tehran. There were then three apparent aftershocks until sunrise, of magnitude 4.

State TV aired images of bricks and masonry that smashed a sedan, shattered glass filling a stairwell and cracks in walls. It said every city in Kermanshah province felt the initial temblor.

At least two people were killed, including a pregnant woman and a 70-year-old man.

Authorities said rescue teams had been deployed to the area. Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli planned to travel there on Tuesday.

President Hassan Rouhani ordered him to provide immediate relief to the earthquake-stricken region. Iran sits on major fault lines and is prone to near-daily earthquakes.

In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.

Iran’s November 2017 earthquake, also in Kermanshah province, injured thousands in Iran.

In neighbouring Iraq, nine people were killed and 550 were injured. The almost entirely Kurdish province of Kermanshah is nestled in the Zagros Mountains along the border with Iraq.