Strong Earthquake Kills 17 People in Iran

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TEHRAN, Iran - A strong earthquake followed by an even stronger aftershock jolted western Iran early Friday, killing at least 17 and injuring hundreds, state media reported.

The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 and was centered near Boroujerd and Doroud, two industrial cities in western Iran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Hours later, it was followed shortly before dawn by two weaker aftershocks and a third tremor with a magnitude of 6.0, IRNA reported.

Provincial official Ali Barani said the quake flattened several villages. Rescue teams have been sent to the region, 210 miles southwest of Tehran, arani told IRNA

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060331/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_quake
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31-MAR-2006 02:47:21 10.72 -86.56 4.3 50.0 OFF COAST OF COSTA RICA
31-MAR-2006 01:31:32 33.71 48.58 4.7 86.3 WESTERN IRAN
31-MAR-2006 01:17:02 33.63 48.80 5.7 10.0 WESTERN IRAN
30-MAR-2006 16:17:06 33.52 48.73 4.7 10.0 WESTERN IRAN
30-MAR-2006 12:19:46 -20.18 -174.22 4.7 35.5 TONGA ISLANDS


http://www.iris.edu/seismon/

At least 51 dead in Iran quake

31/03/2006 08h54

TEHRAN (AFP) - At least 51 people were killed when a powerful earthquake struck western Iran before dawn, wiping out villages and sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes. Another 870 people were injured in the quake which hit the province of Lorestan near the border with Iraq with a force of 6.0 on the Richter scale, an interior ministry official told AFP.

Television footage showed survivors in some of the worst affected areas between the cities of Doroud and Brujerd digging through the rubble of their mud-brick homes. About 330 villages suffered 40 to 100 percent damage, Lorestan provincial governor Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani was quoted on state television as saying.

"By nightfall we will be able to give an accurate number of the casualties and the damage inflicted by the quake," he added. State television reported that rescue workers have been sent to the most devastated areas and that the number of casualties was expected to increase.

Survivors are in urgent need of food stuff, blankets and medical supplies, interior ministry public relations director Mojtaba Mir-Abdollahi told AFP, but said there was "no need for international aid." "Currently the hospitals of the province are packed with injured, and the wounded are now being sent to neighboring provinces," Mir-Abdollahi said.

(more at link below)

<http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/060331084627.hcmib99h.html>

spout about wrath of god?

there have been four quakes in Ohio this year alone . . .

File image from the US Geological Survey (USGS) shows a seismograph measuring a 6.5 earthquake. At least 51 people died and 870 were injured when an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit the province of Lorestan in western Iran(AFP/USGS/File)

:hide:

A series of earthquakes struck western Iran today, killing dozens and flattening villages. At least 66 people were killed and more than 900 injured, a medical official told IRNA, the official Islamic Republic News Agency. The quakes were centered near two industrial cities about 210 miles southwest of Tehran, IRNA reported.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/03/31/earthquake.iran/index.html

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