Environment/Science
Environment/Science
7.3M earthquake strikes Iraq-Iran border, kills at least 130 people

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 13 Nov 2017, 06:59 am Print

Baghdad/Tehran, Nov 13 (JEN): At least 130 people have died after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the border region between Iraq and Iran, reports said.

While the US Geological Survey placed the reading at magnitude 7.3, local meteorological officials put it at magnitude 6.5.

The epicentre has been deemed to be in Penjwin in Sulaimaniyah province in the Kurdistan region.

Iranian interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told state TV, "The night has made it difficult for helicopters to fly to the affected areas and some roads are also cut off... we are worried about remote villages."

The deputy governor of Iran’s Kermanshah province, Mojtaba Nikkerdar, said that the death toll is expected to rise.

"There are still people under the rubble. We hope the number of dead and injured won’t rise too much, but it will rise," he said.