400 Dead In Earthquake In Iran And Iraq

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The number of victims of the magnitude 7.3 earthquake on the Richter scale that occurred shortly before ten o'clock on Sunday night on the Iran-Iraq border continues to grow, now exceeding four hundred deaths.

As reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the authorities of those countries have reported that 407 people have died so far and 5,953 are injured. The highest number of victims occurred in Iran where, in Sarpol-e Zahab alone, a city of about 85,000 inhabitants located 10 miles from the border with Iraq, 236 people died.

In Iraq, meanwhile, the tremor has so far left seven dead in Kurdistan and more than 300 injured.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Iranian seismic center, the quake had its epicenter in Kermanshah province in western Iran and near the border with Iraq. An intense rescue operation that includes hundreds of ambulances and dozens of helicopters, has been mobilizing in the affected areas, where hundreds of rescuers work tirelessly to locate survivors.

The Turkish Red Crescent, which is the equivalent organization to the International Red Cross, warned that there are between 20,000 to 30,000 people affected by this earthquake, while the UN said that around 1.8 million people live less than 100 km from their epicenter.

The earthquake was so strong that it was felt in the capitals of both countries and in other countries, such as Turkey, Kuwait and Israel. Likewise, in the following hours there have been dozens of aftershocks on both sides of the border, according to the Tehran University Institute of Geophysics.

For his part, Iranian President Hassan Rohani assured that in the next few hours he will be moving to the affected provinces.