Iran: At least 450 died, 7,000 were injured and 70,000 left homeless by the powerful quake

The 7.3-magnitude earthquake that shook western Iran late Sunday night, November 12, 2017, has left at least 450 people dead, 7100 injured and over 70,000 people homeless in Kermanshah Province including in Qasr-e Shirin, Islamabad, Sarpol-e , Salas Babajani and . More than 500 villages have suffered damages in the earthquake which has been described as the world’s deadliest so far this year.

Water and power are out and hospitals do not have enough resources and facilities.

Some 240 of the dead are from Sarpol-e Zahab. The town has only one hospital which has been demolished with all patients and hospital staff buried under the rubble.

Eyewitnesses have described the situation as “disorganized.” There is not enough food, nor fuel and electricity is cut off. Many families have not been sheltered and there is fear that freezing cold could take more lives.

In fear of public fury and outrage, the clerical regime has been trying to conceal the true dimensions of damages and casualties.

Video: Powerful earthquake hits Iraq and Iran, killing more than 300

A man sits outside a damaged belonging following an earthquake in Sarpol-e Zahab county in Kermanshah, Iran Nov 13, 2017

BAGHDAD/ANKARA, Reuters, November 13, 2017 - At least 332 people were killed in Iran and Iraq when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake jolted the region on Sunday, state media in the two countries said, and rescuers were searching for dozens trapped under rubble in the mountainous area.

State television said more than 328 people were killed in Iran and at least 2,500 were injured. Local officials said the death toll would rise as search and rescue teams reached remote areas of Iran.

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The earthquake was felt in several western provinces of Iran but the hardest hit province was Kermanshah, which announced three days of mourning. More than 236 of the victims were in Sarpol-e Zahab county in Kermanshah province, about 15 km (10 miles) from the Iraq border.

by Jubin Katiraie

An earthquake, 7.3 magnitude near the Iraq-Iran border has killed more than 400 people and sent residents escaping their homes into the night, authorities said.

Iran’s western province bore the impact of the quake on Sunday night, with authorities saying the quake killed more than 407 people in the country and injured 6,700 up to know.

The quake was centred 19 miles (31km) outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja, according to the most recent measurements from the US Geological Survey.

Graphic locates epicentre of 7.3-magnitude earthquake on the border of Iran and Iraq

It struck at 9.48pm Iran time, just as people began retiring for the night.

It could be felt on the Mediterranean coast, some 660 miles (1,000km) away.

The earthquake struck 23.2km (14.4 miles) below the surface, a shallow depth that can amplify damage.

Iranian social media and news agencies showed images and videos of people fleeing their homes. More than 100 aftershocks followed.

The quake’s worst damage appeared to be in the town of Sarpol-e-Zahab in Kermanshah province, which sits in the Zagros Mountains that divide Iran and Iraq.

Kokab Fard, a 49-year-old housewife in Sarpol-e-Zahab, said she fled empty-handed when her apartment complex collapsed.

“Immediately after I managed to get out, the building collapsed,” she said. “I have no access to my belongings.”

Sarpol-e-Zahab residents said the power and water were out and telephone and mobile phone lines were spotty.

Strong earthquake hits Iraq and Iran, killing at least 210+Video & photos

A woman reacts next to a dead body following an earthquake in Sarpol-e Zahab county in Kermanshah, Iran November 13, 2017

BAGHDAD/ANKARA (Reuters) NOV. 12, 2017 - At least 210 people were killed in Iran and Iraq on Sunday when a powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit the region, state media in the two countries said, as rescuers searched for dozens trapped under rubble.

At least 207 people were killed in Iran, Behnam Saeedi, a spokesman for Iran’s National Disaster Management Organization, said on the state television. More than 1,700 were injured, he said.

the city of e-Zahab in western Iran

Officials expected the casualty toll to rise when search and rescue teams reached remote areas of Iran.

A quake registering a magnitude between 7 and 7.9 can inflict widespread and heavy damage. Moreover, many houses in rural areas of Iran are made of mud bricks that can crumble easily in a quake.