5.9 Magnitude Earthquake in Kermanshah Leaves Over 70 Injured
An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale struck the province of Kermanshah on Sunday afternoon, December 16. The tremor was also felt in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
The earthquake occurred at 17:11 at a distance of 24 kilometers from Gilangharb at a depth of 10 kilometers. According to the latest reports, the earthquake has left at least 75 people injured.
Jalil Balai, the director general of crisis management in Kermanshah province, stated that “given the numerous aftershocks, all schools in this district will be closed on Monday, December 17, in both morning and afternoon sessions, except for final exams.”
According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Agency, this earthquake was also felt in Khorramabad in Lorestan province.
Shahin Fathi, the deputy for rescue and relief operations of the Red Crescent Society, told ISNA that assessment teams from the Red Crescent have been dispatched to the earthquake-affected areas.
Hushyar Zebari, the governor of Kermanshah, announced the dispatch of 11 assessment teams following the Gilangharb earthquake and stated that the earthquake resulted in no fatalities.
Meanwhile, Tasnim News Agency reported that seven strong aftershocks have occurred in the region following this earthquake.
Behnam Saeedi, the spokesperson for the National Crisis Management Organization, announced that the earthquake’s epicenter is in an uninhabited area and no reports of damage to water and electricity facilities in villages around the epicenter have been reported so far.
According to the governor of Sumar, cracks in some houses and rockslides in some areas have been reported.
The location of this earthquake was 31 kilometers from Sumar and 38 kilometers from Sarpol-e Zahab.
Meanwhile, according to IRNA news agency, a relatively severe earthquake also shook Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
The Kurdish Rudaw network also reported that this earthquake was felt in Erbil and other cities in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Last year, an earthquake occurred in Kermanshah which, according to official statistics, left 620 dead and over 8,000 injured.
In December of this year, an earthquake in Sarpol-e Zahab injured 729 people, and this earthquake resulted in the deaths of two people in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Iran is located on an earthquake belt, and in one of the worst earthquakes that occurred in Bam in 2003, over 26,000 people lost their lives.
Source: Radio Farda
