08-13-2012, 07:43 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2012, 07:43 AM by Administrator.)
Minister: 306 People Killed, 3037 Injured by Twin Quakes
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Health Minister Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi said the recent twin quakes in Northwestern Iran have killed 306 people and injured 3037.
"The total number of those killed in the recent quakes in the East Azerbaijan province stood at 306," Dastjerdi told the Iranian lawmakers in an open session of the parliament here in Tehran on Monday.
She said a number of 3037 people have also been injured by the quakes, adding that 116 aftershocks have been registered in the area in the last few days.
An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted Ahar in East Azerbaijan province at 16:00 hours local time (1130GMT) Saturday. The epicenter of the quake was located in an area 46.8 degrees in longitude and 38.4 degrees in latitude.
Almost an hour later another quake with magnitude 6 on the Richter scale jolted Varzaqan at 17:04 hours local time (1234GMT) in the same province. The epicenter of the quake was located in an area 46.7 degrees in longitude and 38.4 degrees in latitude.
Also, head of Iran's Red Crescent Society Abolhassan Faqih said the two quakes "have damaged 230 villages in Varzaqan, Haris and Ahar regions from 70 to 100 percent".
Faqih said many countries, including Russia, Turkey and Taiwan, have voiced preparedness to help Iran with relief and rescue operations, but reiterated that his society has already carried out the mission.
"The first phase of relief and rescue operations ended 6am yesterday and all those killed or injured in the incident have been taken out of the rubbles," he said, and added that phase two would be settling and feeding the quake-stricken people.
Iran sits astride several major faults in the earth's crust, and is prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating.
The worst in recent times hit Bam in southeastern Kerman province in December 2003, killing 31,000 people - about a quarter of its population - and destroying the city's ancient mud-built citadel.
The deadliest quake in the country was in June 1990 and measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. About 37,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan. It devastated 27 towns and about 1,870 villages.
Tehran alone sits on two major fault lines, and the capital's 14 million residents fear a major quake.