6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

[Catbird]

Casualty counts are still only estimates as communication lines to the area have been lost.

Reuters:

Two strong earthquakes struck northwest Iran on Saturday, killing 40 to 50 people and injuring about 400, Iranian media reported.

USGS:
Magnitude 6.4
Date-Time

Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 12:23:17 UTC
Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 03:53:17 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 38.322?N, 46.888?E
Depth 9.9 km (6.2 miles)
Region NORTHWESTERN IRAN
Distances 20 km (12 miles) WSW of Ahar, Iran
60 km (37 miles) ENE of Tabriz, Iran

USGS:

Magnitude 6.3
Date-Time

Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 12:34:35 UTC
Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 04:04:35 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 38.324?N, 46.759?E
Depth 9.8 km (6.1 miles)
Region NORTHWESTERN IRAN
Distances 32 km (19 miles) WSW of Ahar, Iran
48 km (29 miles) ENE of Tabriz, Iran

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Iran Earthquake Kills at Least 87, Over 400 Hurt<!-- empty //-->

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TEHRAN, Iran August 11, 2012 (AP)

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake killed at least 87 people and injured over 400 others in northwestern Iran on Saturday, state TV said.
...
The TV quoted Khalil Saei, local Crisis Committee chief, as saying that 30 people were killed in Ahar, 40 in Varzaqan and 17 others in Haris.

The broadcast said at least 60 villages sustained damage ranging from 50 to 80 percent, while 4 other villages had been totally leveled to the ground.

...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-state-tv-earthquake-hits-northwest-16984606

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Earthquake claims 87 lives, injures 600 in northwestern Iran

Sat Aug 11, 2012 5:32PM GMT

At least 87 people have been killed and 600 others injured in magnitude 6.4 earthquake and subsequent after-shakes that rocked Iran's northwestern provinces.
...
According to reports, six villages have been completely destroyed in the incident.
...
Meanwhile, head of the Rescue and Relief Organization of Iran's Red Crescent Society (IRCS), Mahmoud Mozaffar, said 66 rescuers have been dispatched to the disaster area.
...
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/11/255725/quake-claims-87-lives-in-nw-iran/

 

[Shiloh]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/0...thwestern-iran-reportedly-leaves-dozens-dead/


Iran quake death toll hits 180, with hundreds injured, six villages leveled
Published August 11, 2012
FoxNews.com

Northwestern Iran was struck Saturday by a series of major earthquakes and strong aftershocks, as state TV reported at least 180 dead, 1,350 injured and at least six villages leveled.

SUMMARY

Fars news reports 180 dead and 1,350 injured
Six villages destroyed
Residents told to spend the rest of the night outdoors
Numerous aftershocks

Officials asked residents in affected areas to stay outdoors through the night, the Fars news agency reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the first earthquake, which struck midday, at magnitude 6.4, followed by a 6.3 quake. There were numerous aftershocks, registering as high as magnitude 5.0.

The death toll reported on local media steadily climbed throughout the day, with the latest reports suggesting a widening disaster in East Azerbaijan province...

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Scores killed in northwest Iran earthquakes
...
Last Modified: 11 Aug 2012 22:09

Two strong earthquakes have hit northwestern Iran, killing at least 180 people, Iranian officials have told the state news agency.

Khalid Saie, the head of the regional natural disasters centre, told state television that more than 1,300 others had been injured.

"Unfortunately, the toll is mounting and we are now at 180 dead and some 1,300 injured," Saie said.

"Up to now, there are no deaths reported in the cities and all the victims come from rural areas," he said.

The scale of the disaster was still emerging as rescue operations in the devastated zone northeast of the city of Tabriz pushed through the night after Saturday's quakes.

Earlier, Gholamreza Masoumi, the country's head of emergency services said that the injured were being taken to Tabriz, the biggest city in the region, and Ardebil, a neighouring province.
...
The towns of Ahar and Varzeghan, 60km from Tabriz, were the hardest hit, being closest to the epicentres of the two quakes. Haris, another town close by, was also badly shaken. Scores of villages were decimated.

Ahmad Alireza Beigi, the regional governor, told state television that while the city of Tabriz was relatively free of major damage, he was more concerned about the surrounding villages.

"Sixty villages... have been heavily damaged and are in need of help," Abbas Fallah, a lawmaker in the hard-hit town of Ahar, told the semi-official Mehr news agency.
...

Full text:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/2012811154351584427.html

 

[Emily]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

There are comments from people in the earthquake zone in Iran here:

http://earthquake-report.com/2012/08/11/extremely-dangerous-shallow-earthquake-in-the-greater-tabriz-iran-area/

Photos of the suffering:
http://www.farsnews.com/imgrep.php?nn=13910521001186

Photos of relief arriving.

Casualties were reduced in Vrzqan because many residents were out the fields harvesting lentils at the time of the earthquake. Casualties were reduced to less than 40 percent because of this.

Governor Vrzqan:
Complete destruction of 12 villages in Vrzqan

 

[Catbird]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Although Iran has announced that all rescue operations are complete, there is some question as to whether all the more remote villages have been even been reached yet.

BBC is also reporting that the hospitals in Tabriz and Ahar are struggling to cope with the number of injured.

Relief operations are under way in Iran after two strong earthquakes in the north-west left at least 250 people dead and more than 2,000 injured.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Source: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2012/08/11/20093186.html

Nearly 300 dead in Iran quakes
By Yeganeh Torbati, REUTERS

DUBAI - Overcrowded hospitals in northwest Iran struggled to cope with thousands of earthquake victims on Sunday as rescuers raced to reach remote villages after two powerful quakes killed nearly 300 people.

Thousands huddled in makeshift camps or slept in the street after Saturday?s quakes for fear of more aftershocks, 60 of which had already struck. A lack of tents and other supplies left them exposed to the night chill, one witness told Reuters...

 

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Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Iran government criticized over earthquake response

By Yeganeh Torbati
DUBAI | Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:05am EDT

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's government faced criticism on Monday over its response to two earthquakes that killed 306 people, with complaints of a lack of tents and about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's decision to go ahead with an overseas trip.

Although officials announced on Sunday, less than 24 hours after disaster struck, that search and rescue operations had finished and all survivors had been freed from the rubble, some locals expressed disbelief that authorities could have reached the most remote villages so soon.

"I know the area well. There are some regions where there are villages that you can't even reach by car," one doctor in the city of Tabriz told Reuters by telephone on Monday, declining to give his name because of the sensitivity of the issue. "It's not possible for them to have finished so soon."

The doctor said he had worked for 24 hours non-stop, treating patients from villages rushed to Tabriz.

"In the first hours after the quake, it was ordinary people and volunteers in their own cars going to the affected areas," the doctor said. "It was more ordinary people helping out than official crisis staff."

More...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/13/us-iran-quake-idUSBRE87C0OW20120813

 

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Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Report: Most of 306 people killed by Iran earthquakes are women, children

By NBC News staff and wire reports

The death toll after twin earthquakes struck rural northwest Iran jumped to 306 on Monday -- with most of the victims women and children, local media reported.

Health Minister Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi added that 3,037 people were injured in Saturday's temblors, Iran's state-run Press TV reported.

Of the 306 deaths, morgues had counted 219 women and children and 49 men, pan-Arab news channel Al Jazeera reported quoted Vahid Dastjerdi as saying.

The discrepancy between the number of bodies in morgues with the official death toll appeared to stem from the fact that some of those who died during the earthquakes were buried before officials arrived at the scene, according to Al Jazeera.

'People need help': Iran hospitals swamped by earthquake victims

More...
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/...killed-by-iran-earthquakes-are-women-children

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Iran raises earthquake death toll to 306

Associated Press | Updated: August 13, 2012 19:31 IST

...
The quakes hit the towns of Ahar, Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province. At least 12 villages were totally leveled, and 425 others sustained damage ranging from 50 to 80 per cent, state TV and news agencies reported.

Many roads and other infrastructure were heavily damaged. State TV showed relief workers distributing tents and helping survivors, mainly in rural areas.

Meanwhile Iran's Red Crescent Society said the country does not need any foreign aid.

Spokesman Pouya Hajian told semiofficial ISNA news agency that the International federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, UNICEF, Turkey, Taiwan, Singapore, Germany and many embassies in Tehran had offered help but that the Iranian Red Crescent is able to support the quake-stricken areas.

The head of Red Crescent Society of in the quake-struck province also said international aid was not needed.

The ISNA report added that Iran has sent back a rescue team from Turkey that had arrived in the region without advance coordination.
...

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/iran-raises-earthquake-death-toll-to-306-254410

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

US says no sanctions on Iran quake aid

(AFP)?40 minutes ago

WASHINGTON ? The United States said Monday that its citizens can donate food and medicine to Iran without fear of prosecution after the heavily sanctioned nation was hit by twin earthquakes.

President Barack Obama's administration has offered US assistance to Iranian victims of Saturday's disaster, despite its campaign of economic sanctions against the clerical regime over its contested nuclear program.

"Our hearts go out to those people who are affected," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

"Americans wishing to provide humanitarian assistance to Iranians during this time may donate food and medicine without obtaining an Iranian transactions regulations license," she said, referring to sanctions exemptions.
...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...ocId=CNG.a74f928fbea636bfec8c83717b3bf5ea.3e1

 

[Shiloh]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20120814133117

Tuesday, 14 August 2012 - 26 Ramadan 1433 H
Epidemic outbreak feared in Iran

TEHRAN ? Twin earthquakes that devastated rural villages in northwest Iran on the weekend killed 306 people, most of them women and children, and have sparked fears of disease outbreak, officials said Monday.

Another 3,037 people were injured, of whom 2,011 were given first aid at the scene and the rest were taken to hospital, where 700 surgeries were performed, Health Minister Marzieh Vahid told lawmakers in a report published on the parliament?s website...

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Iran accepts foreign aid for quake victims

Published: Aug. 14, 2012 at 2:30 AM

TABRIZ, Iran, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Iran is ready to accept foreign aid for 17,000 earthquake survivors in the country's northwest, a vice president said, after Iran earlier refused help.

"In different situations, our country has helped those in need in other countries, and under the current conditions, [Iran] is ready to receive aid ... from different countries," Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying in provincial capital Tabriz Monday night, about 30 miles from the epicenter of Saturday's double earthquake near the Azerbaijani border.

Iran earlier refused outside help from the United States, Germany, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, saying it could handle the disaster that killed at least 306 people and injured more than 3,000 alone.
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Now that Iran is accepting aid, the Turkish Red Crescent, which had been forced to return to the Turkish side of the countries' common border, would begin bringing its aid supplies to a customs office in Iran's West Azerbaijan province city of Bazargan, bordering Turkey, IRNA said. Bazargan is a key import-export city.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-N...ake-victims/UPI-82761344925800/#ixzz23XaiKwVY

 

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Re: 6.4 and 6.3 quakes near Tabriz, Iran

Iran earthquake: Two more survivors found

<IFRAME height=360 src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zIBU4ZEsVPI" frameBorder=0 width=640 allowfullscreen></IFRAME>

Published on Aug 14, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

Iran's state media is reporting two people have been found alive in one of the villages destroyed in Saturday's double earthquakes. More than 300 people died in the northwest of the country. Al Jazeera's Soraya Lennie met survivors in a village in East Azerbaijan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zIBU4ZEsVPI