Iran quake injures more than 700, Rouhani orders relief effort

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said no effort should be spared to help earthquake victims on Iran鈥檚 western border with Iraq. Above, Rouhani speaks at the Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, this month. (AP Photo)
  • The Sunday night earthquake was felt in at least seven provinces of Iran, but most strongly in Kermanshah
  • Fears of aftershocks forced many people to spend the night out on the streets in cold weather

DUBAI: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said no effort should be spared to help victims of a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on Iran鈥檚 western border with Iraq that injured more than 700 people, most suffering minor wounds, state television reported on Monday.
The Sunday night earthquake was felt in at least seven provinces of Iran, but most strongly in Kermanshah, where last year more than 600 people were killed and thousands injured in the country鈥檚 deadliest earthquake in more than a decade.
鈥淩ouhani has ordered officials to do whatever is necessary to provide help for the victims of the earthquake,鈥� TV reported.
The head of Iran鈥檚 Red Crescent Society, Mahmoud Mohammadi Nasab, told TV that there were no fatalities.
TV aired footage of damaged houses in the town of Sarpol-e Zahab in Kermanshah where some people remain homeless following last year鈥檚 7.3 magnitude quake.
鈥淲e have had 729 injured, 700 of them have been treated and released ... some 18 people have been hospitalized,鈥� Houshang Bazvand, governor of the western province of Kermanshah, told state TV.
Iran鈥檚 state news agency IRNA said another two earthquakes measuring 5.2 and 4.6 on the Richter scale had jolted Sarpol-e Zahab on Monday morning following Sunday鈥檚 earthquake and 161 aftershocks.
Fears of aftershocks forced many people to spend the night out on the streets in cold weather. The quake triggered landslides in some areas, but Iranian authorities said rescue teams had access to all towns and villages.
Iran sits astride major fault lines and is prone to frequent tremors. In 2003, a 6.6 magnitude quake in Kerman province killed 31,000 people and flattened the historic city of Bam.
Sunday鈥檚 tremor was also felt in Kuwait and the Iraqi capital Baghdad as well as in Irbil in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and other Iraqi provinces, but no damage was reported.