More than 60 people were killed and some 300 injured in western Iran and northern Iraq after a major earthquake of magnitude 7.2 shook Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah late Sunday, The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, issuing an “orange” alert for “shaking-related fatalities and economic losses.”
The moment of #earthquake at a marker in #Helebce #Kurdistan pic.twitter.com/26MrR1WxML
— Rawand M Azeez (@rawandazeez) November 12, 2017
The epicenter of the earthquake is 32 kilometers southwest of Halabja near the Iranian border, data from the USGS website showed.
Iranian officials said a total of 60 people were killed and 300 were injured in the country’s Kermanshah province.
“Four people were killed by the earthquake” in Darbandikhan, the town’s mayor Nasseh Moulla Hassan told AFP.
Another two people were killed in Kalar, according to the director of the hospital in the town about 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Darbandikhan.
State television had previously reported six dead in Qasr-e Shirin, close to the Iraqi border, around 40 kilometres southwest of Azgaleh.
A 12-year-old boy was killed and over 50 people were injured in Iraq, according to the official statements.
Local sources said the earthquake with a depth of 33 kilometers was felt in border towns in Iran and Turkey.
Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdağ said no destruction or damage occurred in Turkey from magnitude the earthquake.
In southeastern Turkey, the earthquake was felt from Malatya to Van, according to residents. In the town of Diyarbakir, locals also left their homes before returning.
Turkey has mobilized in response to the quake, with Health Minister Demircan saying “We have made preparations for aid to earthquake-affected areas should a request come from N. Iraq.” Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalın also said Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and Turkish Red Crescent have started preparations to provide medicines and basic necessities such as blankets. The two Turkish organizations will also conduct search and rescue operations if needed, Kalın said.
According to the Turkish Red Crescent’s statement, the aid organization and AFAD have already sent eight first response vehicles and over 40 personnel to the quake-hit region.
