By James Simons-
A powerful earthquake which struck Iran’s mountainous border with Iraq, killing over 400 people and injuring about 7,000 has led to deep sorrows in Iran.
”Families have been separated from each other through its tragic consequences of death and disappearance”, Shervin Ebrahimi based in the UK told the eye of media.com. The sadness from this tragedy is being felt by Iranians all over the world because each of the dead will have a family member in the UK, The U.S, and many parts of the world. It is a sad day for Iranians world wide”.
A hectic search for for survivors trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings has been underway since one of the deadliest earthquakes in the world this year.
More than 20 soldiers around and under a slab of concrete in a pile of rubble
A majority of the dead were in western Iran – in Sarpol-e-Zahab,-a town 15km (10 miles) from the border, and other parts of Kermanshah province. Reporters from Iranian media say the town’s main hospital was severely damaged, leaving it struggling to treat hundreds of wounded, state TV reported.The impact of the quake could be felt in the Meditaranean
Running water and electricity has been cut out in some cities, and after buildings collapsed, people were forced to spend hours outdoors in parks or streets in cold weather. A number of soldiers and border guards were among the dead, the Iranian army’s commander-in-chief told the state news channel IRINN.
Landslides have made it more difficult for rescuers to reach those affected in rural areas, and there are fears a dam in Iraq could burst after it was damaged by the earthquake. People living nearby have reportedly been asked to leave ILNA have reported that the deputy governor of Kermanshah province said his region faces a “shortage of physicians,” saying, that those who needed surgery will have to be transferred to the regional capital, ILNA reported.more than 400 people and injuring thousands of others, officials said.
The epicenter of the quake on Sunday evening was near Ezgeleh, Iran, about 135 miles northeast of Baghdad. It reportedly had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, according to the United States Geological Survey, and seismologists in the country said it was the biggest quake to hit the western part of Iran.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, issued a message of condolence on Monday, urging rescue workers to keep searching for survivors. “The officials should hasten in these first hours with all their might and determination to help the injured, especially those trapped under the rubble,” his office reported. Pol-e Zahab, The city of Pol-e Zahab in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah was particularly hit hard by the earthquake which has shocked the country.
Iraq’s interior ministry said the earthquake killed seven and red 535 in the country’s Northern Kurdish region.
The quake was centred 19 miles (31 kilometers) outside the eastern Iraqi city of Halabja, according to measurements from the U.S. Geological Survey. People are said to have fled their homes in panic when the quake struck around 9.48pm at night, Iranian time.
MONSTROUS
At least 14 provinces in Iran have been affected by the monstrous earthquake in Iran, according to The semi-official ILNA news agency said at least 14 provinces in Iran had been affected by the earthquake. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered the country’s civil defense teams and “related institutions” to respond to the natural disaster. suffered by “our Iranian and Iraqi brethren.”
Iran is situated on a number of fault lines, and is prone to near-daily quakes. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake destroyed the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people. It is 5 years since Iran has suffered a major earthquake, the last one struck in East Azerbaijan province in August 2012, killing close to 400 people.
IMPACT
It could be felt on the Mediterranean coast, some 660 miles (1,000 kilometers) away.
The earthquake struck 23.2 kilometers (14.4 miles) below the surface, a shallow depth that can amplify damage. Magnitude 7 earthquakes can be highly destructive.
Iranian social media and news agencies showed images and videos of people fleeing their homes. More than 100 aftershocks followed.
The earthquake is the latest of a series of earthquakes to grip parts of the world
Landslides have made it harder for rescuers to reach those affected in rural areas, but they are persevering in their efforts to save those trapped under rubbles caused by the earthquake.