Huge earthquake hits Iran, hundreds feared dead

[photonrider]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/16/us-iran-quake-idUSBRE93F0E120130416

(Reuters) - A major earthquake struck Iran near the border with Pakistan on Tuesday and an Iranian official said hundreds of people were feared to have been killed.

Tremors from the 7.8 magnitude quake were also felt in India and Gulf states.

"It was the biggest earthquake in Iran in 40 years and we are expecting hundreds of dead," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at 5:44 a.m. ET at a depth of 15.2 km (9.4 miles).

People in the city of Zahedan poured into the streets when the earthquake struck, Iran's Fars news agency reported.

All communications in the area have been cut, the Iranian Red Crescent's Mahmoud Mozaffar told state television. Rescue teams have been dispatched to the affected area, he said.

"In the aftermath of this earthquake five evaluation teams from the Khash and Saravan branches were sent to the area to assess damage," Mozaffar said.

The epicenter was in southeast Iran in an area of mountains and desert, 201 km (125 miles) southeast of Zahedan and 250 km northwest of Turbat in Pakistan, USGS said.

 

[Cano]

7.8 is a pretty big hit. As if Irán needed more stuff on its back. Sad.

 

[Akira AC]

Not to mention that it comes from a 6.3 quake on April the 10th, hopefully seismic activity will not be as strong in the upcoming months.

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

I don't think there will be too many casualties... zahedan is not very populated.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Pretty big quake.

 

[Slash]

Not another quake...

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

Its been feared for a while that Tehran will soon get hit by an earthquake, as Iran lies on a fault line.

 

[a6m5]

Article now says at least 35 killed in Pakistan, but no casualty in Iran. Still unfortunate, but bit lucky it hit deep in the ground. 👍

 

[Peter.]

My heart goes out to the suffering, and to all the families mourning now.


This thread has less replies than the Cat lives off of cheeseburger thread. They were both made at similar times. What's wrong with us?

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

^ Same reason why we all care about the Boston bombings but not a bombing in Baghdad. Earthquakes in Iran are almost a common occurence.