Iranian and U.S. authorities say a powerful earthquake has struck Iran near the Pakistani border, with reports of scores dead as rescuers mobilized and authorities began to assess the damage.
The Iran Seismological Center said the quake had a magnitude of 7.5, while the U.S. Geological Survey put its strength at 7.8.
The epicenter was reported to be 86 kilometers southeast of Khash, a city of more than 50,000 people in Iran’s southeastern Sistan a Baluchistan Province, which abuts Pakistan.
“People are scared,” one resident told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda within an hour or so of the quake. “They have left their homes because the tremors were very powerful. People are still staying outside their homes.”
Tremors were felt througout the Persian Gulf region and South Asia, including in the Indian capital, Delhi, causing people to rush out into the streets.
In the first report of Iranian casualties, state-run television said at least 40 people had been killed.
But there were fears the death toll could be much higher.
Pakistani officials said at least five people were killed across the border in southwestern Pakistan.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the authorities declared a state of emergency in the quake-hit area.
Reuters quoted an unnamed Iranian official as saying it was “the biggest earthquake in Iran in 40 years” and warning that “we are expecting hundreds of dead.”
Office workers in Karachi, Pakistan stand outside of their buildings following the earthquake centered in southeastern Iran on April 16.
The Iranian Red Crescent said rescue teams had been dispatched. Red Crescent officials said all communications to the region had been cut.
Hatam Narui, the governor of Sistan and Baluchistan Province, where the earthquake was centered, told state television the tremors lasted between 15 and 20 seconds.
Iran sits on a region with a history of seismic volatility.
A week ago, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit southwest Iran, killing dozens of people and injuring at least 850 others.
Provincial Governor Fereydoun Hassanvand told state television after that April 9 event that the nearby Bushehr nuclear plant had not been affected.
Based on reporting by RFE/RL and RFE/RL’s Radio Farda; with additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
By RFE/RL
16.04.2013