Published: 11 August, 2012, 19:48
Press TV video shot
Two strong quakes have shaken Iran’s northwest, leaving 87 people dead and 600 injured, according to the country’s state television. The quakes have also disrupted communications, complicating rescue efforts.
The quakes, measuring 6.4 and 6.3 on the Richter scale, struck near the towns of Tabriz and Ahar. However, most of the dead are thought to be in the surrounding villages.
“Our access to villages have been cut and we can only contact them by radio transceiver,” Mahmoud Mozaffar, head of Iran’s Rescue and Relief Organisation, told the Mehr news agency. He added that “helicopters and rescuers are on their way to villages.”
Iran’s main news channel said the quake hit the towns of Ahar, Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province at 4:53 p.m. local time (12:23 GMT ), AP reports.
The TV quoted the local Crisis Committee chief as saying that 30 people were killed in Ahar, 40 in Varzaqan and 10 in Hariz.
Seven people died while being transported to the hospital in Tabriz.
State channel Press TV puts the number of dead at over 30, while Reuters reports at least 40 people have been killed.
A spokesman for Tabriz’s fire department told the ISNA news agency that “most parts of Tabriz have no electricity… and there is a heavy traffic jam in the city.”
“Sixty villages… have been heavily damaged and are in need of help,” Abbas Fallah, a lawmaker in the hard-hit town of Ahar, told local reporters.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Press TV channel said at least 60 villages sustained damage ranging from 50 to 80 percent, while 6 other villages have been totally leveled to the ground.
The tremors were felt in neighboring Azerbaijan, according to the local Seismology Institute, but no casualties have been reported.
Iran is generally susceptible to earthquakes, being situated on seismic fault lines. Tremors hit the country every day, but the majority of them are so insignificant that they go unnoticed.
The deadliest was a 6.6-magnitude quake which struck the southern city of Bam in December 2003, killing 31,000 people – about a quarter of the population – and destroying the city’s ancient mud-built citadel.
Press TV video shot
It’s sickening to watch the Axis of Evil………….US/Israel/British putting it to the Iranians….we already know that the CIA has been deeply involved in and is the “rebel” force trying to topple Assad ….and while they are trying to reform the Middle East into their Central Banking Fascist Regime, they are sucking the life out of Americans…crushing us with bullshit debt……….poisoning our food (GMOs), water (flouride) and air (chemtrails), and there seems to be no stopping them….where oh where is our devine intervention? and this event….is it their HAARP weapon at work?
Debbie, I was thinking HAARP too. Let’s send love and light to Iran and intend that the machine will be used for good.
Those poor people. I to must envelop these people in light and love.
Thank you for the update and detail, Jean – these poor people…as if suffering the sanctions isn’t enough, now they face the loss of shelter in addition to the lack of food (and the unlikely hope of quick rescue). I think I’ll spend the rest of the day visualizing a blanket of warmth and comfort surrounding the earth…we could all use it! Less than 22 hours til the closing ceremony -
Oh my God Jean….is this what Kerry was talking about two days ago except it was directed at Iran, not the coast lines of the mainland….. ?
No, I don’t think so. I also don’t know if it was ‘directed’. I sure hope not! Hugs, ~Jean
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