Hundreds killed as temblor rocks Iran-Iraq border
TEHRAN — A powerful earthquake shook the Iran-Iraq border late Sunday, killing 207 people and injuring 1,686 in the mountainous region of Iran alone, Iranian state media said.
The Baghdad government did not immediately give word on casualties in that country, though Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued a directive for the country’s civil defense teams and related institutions to respond to the natural disaster.
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. About 50 aftershocks followed.
A 4.5-magnitude aftershock 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.
Iran’s state-run television reported the increase in casualties early Monday and said rescue work was continuing overnight and would accelerate during the daytime.
Rescue teams were sent to the Kermanshah town of Ghasre Shirin, which Iranian state media reported had suffered considerable damage after the quake struck, but they were being hampered by electricity failures.
Kurdish news agency Rudaw said the Iranian province of Illam was also hard hit and that Kurdish cities in Iraq such as Halabja, Erbil and Duhok were also affected. The Iraqi border cities of Halabja and Sulaymaniyah reportedly declared states of emergency.
Turkey’s Health Ministry has offered aid for northern Iraq, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
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 semiofficial ILNA news agency said at least 14 provinces in Iran had been affected by the earthquake.
Iranian state TV also said Iraqi officials reported that at least six people dead inside Iraq, along with more than 50 people injured in Sulaymaniyah province and about 150 in the town of Khanaquin.
Iran sits on many major fault lines and is prone to near-daily quakes. In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude 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.