Aug 12, 2012

Iran Earthquake Relief Efforts Begin Watch

Relief operations are under way in Iran after two strong earthquakes in the north-west left at least 250 people dead and more than 2,000 injured.

The 6.4 and 6.3 quakes struck near Tabriz and Ahar on Saturday afternoon, with more than 55 aftershocks reported over the following hours.

More than 100 villages are damaged - thousands of people spent the night in emergency shelters or in the open.

Relief agencies are providing survivors with tents, bread and drinking water.

Hundreds of people were rescued overnight but that the aftershocks made the operation exhausting.

On Sunday Hassan Ghadami, Iran's deputy interior minister, said that "all those under debris have been rescued and the quake-stricken people are now being provided with their basic needs".

Local officials said all the reported deaths have been in rural areas, an indication of the poorer quality of housing outside cities.

"This village is a mass grave," said Alireza Haidaree, who had been searching for survivors in Baje Baj.

"There are so many other villages that have been completely destroyed," he told AFP.

"The quake has created huge panic among the people," one resident of Tabriz said. "Everyone has rushed to the streets."

The towns of Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province in north-western Iran were among those hit.

Fars reported that about 110 villages had been damaged. At least were four totally flattened and 60 others sustained extensive damage.

Reports say phone lines to many villages were cut off, restricting rescuers to radio contact.

Source: BBC News  

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