Iran struggles to cope with quake aftermath

Monday 13 August 2012

OVERCROWDED hospitals in north-west Iran struggled to cope with thousands of victims and rescuers raced to reach remote villages after two powerful earthquakes killed nearly 300 people.

grief: A victim of Saturday's earthquake sits on the ruins of buildings in the village of Bajebaj as Red Crescent workers and villagers searched for survivors.

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Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI

Thousands of people huddled in makeshift camps or slept in streets after Saturday's quakes in fear of more aftershocks, 60 of which had already struck.

Tabriz residents left their homes and crowded the streets following the two quakes. "Everyone was scared last night," one resident said. "They set up tents and were sleeping in the streets and in parks."

Casualty figures are expected to rise as some of the injured were in critical condition while hundreds were trapped beneath rubble."I saw some people whose entire home was destroyed," said local man Tahir Sadati. "People need help, they need warm clothes, more tents, blankets and bread."The worst casualty rate was in rural villages surrounding the towns of Ahar, Varzeghan and Harees, near the major city of Tabriz.Water, electricity and phone lines in the area of Varzeghan are all down, further hindering rescue efforts.Many villages are hard to reach by road, hindering rescue efforts. Hospitals in Tabriz, Ardabil and other cities nearby took in many of the injured and there were long queues of survivors waiting to be treated.Ahar's 120-bed hospital was full and there were traffic jams on the narrow road between Ahar and Tabriz as victims tried to reach hospitals.Saturday's first quake measured 6.4 and struck 37 miles north-east of Tabriz.The second, measuring 6.3, struck 11 minutes later near Varzaghan, 30 miles north-east of Tabriz.More than 1000 villages in the area were affected by the earthquakes, Ahmad Reza Shaji'i, a Red Crescent official, said. Some 130 villages suffered more than 70% damage, and 20 villages were completely destroyed, he said. Mr Close to 300 people were believed to be dead, said Reza Sadighi, Ahar's local governor. National emergency head Gholam Reza Masoumi said 5000 people are believed to be injured."One good thing was that the earthquake happened during the day, so many people were not in their homes," said Mr Sadati. "If it had happened at night the casualties would have been far worse."Seventy-one ambulances and 40 units trained to find survivors had been deployed to the affected areas along with more than 5000 tents.About 16,000 people in the quake-hit area have been given emergency shelter.Iranian politician Mohammad Hassan-Nejad warned that if relief efforts did not speed up, the death toll would swiftly rise."Relief groups have still not reached many villages, because in normal conditions some of these villages are several hours away," he said. "Currently the roads are closed and the only way to reach these villages is by air."Another politician, Abbas Falahi, said rescue workers had not yet been able to reach between 10 and 20 villages.Iranian news websites showed images of numerous bodies, including children, lying on the floor of a white-tiled morgue in Ahar and medical staff treating the injured in the open air as dusk fell.Iran is situated on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 that reduced the historic south- eastern city of Bam to rubble and killed about 31,000 people.Saturday's quakes struck in East Azerbaijan province, a mountainous region that neighbours Azerbaijan and Armenia to the north.Buildings in Tabriz, the provincial capital, are substantially built and ISNA reported nobody no casualties in the city.Homes and business premises in Iranian villages, however, are often made of concrete blocks or mud brick, which can collapse in a strong tremor.Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar has arrived in the area and was holding meetings with local officials to coordinate the emergency response.

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Iran struggles to cope with quake aftermath

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