Iran and Iraq Earthquake’s Death Toll Around 350

Iran and Iraq Earthquake’s Death Toll Around 350

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake shook the border of Iran and Iraq over the weekend and the death roll has risen to 348 people. From Reuters:

State television said more than 348 people were killed in Iran and at least 6,600 were injured. Local officials said the death toll would rise as search and rescue teams reached remote areas of Iran.

The earthquake was felt in several western provinces of Iran, but the hardest hit province was Kermanshah, which announced three days of mourning. More than 300 of the victims were in Sarpol-e Zahab county in Kermanshah province, about 15 km (10 miles) from the Iraq border.

Iranian state television said the quake had caused heavy damage in some villages where houses were made of earthen bricks. Rescuers were laboring to find survivors trapped under collapsed buildings.

The death toll climbed dramatically overnight after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake shook Iran and Iraq on Sunday. More than 330 people are confirmed dead, most of them in Iran https://t.co/d3KiBr4Vh8 pic.twitter.com/rjgVt1Jruu

— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 13, 2017

More than 200 people are dead and more than 2,500 injured after a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the border region between Iran and Iraq https://t.co/ENQ04WFHKE pic.twitter.com/QTBwgTBFPK

— CNN (@CNN) November 13, 2017

The earthquake killed 236 people in Sarpol-e Zehab, which has a population of 30,000. The hospital is “partly running.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pushed officials to keep searching for survivors. Sarpol-e Zahab parliament member Farhad Tarji said his family has lost 15 people.

However, people have started rising up in anger as help has not headed their way. From The New York Times:

The Iranian government newspaper posted a video on its website in which a resident of Sarpol-e Zahab complained that no help had come.

“There has been no help yet, neither food nor water, no clothing, no tents, there is nothing,” said the resident, a man who appeared to be in his 30s, while standing in a street with collapsed buildings. “There are no facilities yet. We’ve slept outside since last night. This is the condition of our homes. Our electricity, water, gas, phone lines are out, everything is completely out, the whole city has been destroyed, it is wrecked.”

An image posted on social media showed soldiers searching through the rubble at night without flashlights or torches, using their cellphones for light.

Officials from the Health Ministry traveled to the area, as did the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Ali Jafari, but foreign reporters were not allowed to visit the scene, in a change from previous disasters.

Foreign reporters must receive permission from the Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture to travel outside of the capital.

The epicenter hit “Penjwin in Sulaimaniyah province in the Kurdistan region, close to the main border crossing with Iran.” Kurdish officials said six people died and 68 were injured. The Darbandikham district was hit hardest and the earthquake “severely damaged” its only hospital.

Magnitude-7.3 earthquake strikes Iraq-Iran border, killing more than 300 people in both countries. https://t.co/Vnr9n4J7mu pic.twitter.com/C3X4R1L1JO

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) November 13, 2017

People are stuck under rubble after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit the Iran-Iraq border. More than 300 died and 5,000 are injured, officials sayhttps://t.co/LrvONlwXyL pic.twitter.com/JlscAVtOJx

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) November 13, 2017

At least 300 people have been killed in an earthquake that shook the border region between Iraq and Iran.

Rescue teams are still searching for survivors. pic.twitter.com/KPwyjWlNvz

— AJ+ (@ajplus) November 13, 2017

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