Powerful Quake Jolts Iran; Hundreds Die
Powerful Quake Jolts Iran; Hundreds Die in Early Toll (NYT)
A powerful earthquake jolted central Iran this morning, killing more than 500 people and injuring over 1,000, the news agency ISNA reported The magnitude of the earthquake was 6.4 on the Richter scale, and its epicenter was in the town of Zarand, 35 miles northwest of the city of Kerman, in central Iran. Zarand is 600 miles south of the capital of Tehran.
The earthquake hit at 5:55 a.m. local time when many were still asleep and lasted for 11 seconds. It was followed by 10 aftershocks until 9 a.m. local time, state television said.
The region affected by the earthquake included 40 villages that had a population of 30,000. Two villages, Daghuyeh and Hoodkan, were completely leveled; others suffered varying degrees of damage. “The situation in these two villages is so bad that it is possible no one would be found alive from under the rubble,” said a doctor identified as Mr. Sharifi in the city of Kerman, ISNA reported. “The number of the dead might reach 1,000, including the death toll in these two villages,” he added.
Reuters has a similar report. My guess is this will get virtually no attention as compared with the recent Asian tsunami disaster.
Do I sense that Allah is offended?
OT: Did I offend you in some manner? I have noticed my link is no longer appearing on the OTB blogroll.