Khoy earthquake: 104 injured, 1,700 houses damaged
104 people have been injured in the 5.7 magnitude earthquake in the Qatur Khoy district, 19 of whom are hospitalized. Residential units in 43 villages have been destroyed by 10 to 100 percent. Most of all, thatched and hillside houses in "Makhin" or "Kotan Abad".
The dean of the Khoy Faculty of Medical Sciences says that 104 people were injured in the two earthquakes on the morning and evening of March 25, most of whom had broken bones. Of these, 85 were treated as outpatients and the rest are hospitalized. Two of the injured are now in critical condition.
The first earthquake in Khoy occurred at 9:22 AM near the city of Qatur. The tremors were also felt by people in Urmia, Tabriz, Osku, Salmas, and Sahand. At 7:30 PM, another earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale shook Zarabad.
The two earthquakes cut off electricity and communication networks in villages and knocked out parts of Khoy's fiber optic network. The governor of West Azerbaijan announced that electricity, mobile phone networks, and telecommunications in the earthquake-hit areas had been restored as of Monday morning.
Provincial authorities report the loss of 500 livestock and 10 to 100 percent damage to houses in 43 villages in Salmas and Khoy. Experts from the West Azerbaijan Housing Foundation have stated that the number of destroyed houses is at least 1,700. The most damage has occurred in eight villages in the region, including in “Makhin” and “Kotan Abad.”
The village of Makhin, located in Zarabad district, has 300 thatched and mud-roofed houses, and those that have not been reinforced have suffered major damage. 80 percent of the houses in Kotanabad, Qatur, which have wooden roofs and are made of mud and bricks, have also been destroyed.
The CEO of the West Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society says that 775 tents, 3,000 blankets, and 1,000 food packages have been sent to Qator, and 325 relief workers are also present on the scene.
At the same time, IRNA reported a clash between rescue workers and people in one of the affected villages. IRNA writes that the Red Crescent relief team had gone to assess the extent of the damage, but the residents beat them up for not bringing relief items: “Hamid Dehghan, the former head of the Salmas Red Crescent, was injured in the head and was transferred to Urmia Hospital.”
Over the past month, the region near the Turkish border has witnessed more than 30 earthquakes with a magnitude of less than 4.5 on the Richter scale. Across the border, however, the damage was greater, with eight deaths in the town of Başqala in Van province.
Source: DW
