Two strong earthquakes have shaken different parts of Iran in
less than 24 hours, injuring more than 200 people and
damaging hundreds of homes.
The first quake, which had a magnitude of 5.7, struck
villages and towns in the northeast on Friday evening (local
time), injuring more than 200 people, said Mojtaba Sadeqian,
governor of the town hardest hit, Torbat-e Heydariyeh.
Two of the injured were in critical condition, the official
IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.
The semiofficial ILNA news agency reported a higher injury
toll, putting the number at 274.
Iranian TV footage showed parts of buildings reduced to
rubble and homes strewn with shattered glass and other
debris. Communications were also temporarily disrupted.
Late Saturday morning (local time), a magnitude 5.8
earthquake rattled the Negar region, more than 1000km south
of the capital, Tehran.
There were no reports of casualties, but state television
said there was extensive damage, most of it to buildings made
of mud and brick.
"Due to the old and traditional structure of the buildings,
the quake damaged 700 houses," Negar Mayor Ali Reza Kazemi
said, according to IRNA.
Iran, which is located on seismic fault lines, experiences at
least one slight earthquake every day on average.
Some 26,000 people were killed by a magnitude 6.6 quake that
flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam in 2003.
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