Tremor felt in Bahrain as quake rocks Iraq
Manama : A massive earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale rattled the northern border region between Iraq and Iran yesterday killing at least 10 people and injuring hundreds, according to Iran’s state Television Station.
The quake felt in several Iranian provinces bordering Iraq damaged eight villages, Xinhua, quoting the state television, said.
Health officials said most of the wounded were in Darbandikhan, 75 kilometres (47 miles) east of the major city of Sulaimaniyah in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
The district’s main hospital was severely damaged and had no power, Kurdistan Regional Government’s Health Minister Rekawt Hama Rasheed said.
Some social media users in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Kuwait and Bahrain have also reported feeling tremors.
Reuters, quoting Iraqi meteorology official, said at least six people had been killed in the quake, whose epicentre was in Penjwin, in the Sulaimaniyah province.
The US Geological Survey said the quake measured a magnitude of 7.3, while an Iraqi meteorology official put its magnitude at 6.5 according to preliminary information.
Recording stations in Haifa in northern Israel and Beer Sheva in southern Israel measured a magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter scale.
Many residents in the Iraqi capital Baghdad rushed out of houses and tall buildings in panic.
“I was sitting with my kids having dinner and suddenly the building was just dancing in the air,” said Majida Ameer, who ran out of her building in the capital’s Salihiya district with her three children. “I thought at first that it was a huge bomb. But then I heard everyone around me screaming ‘Earthquake!’”
There were similar scenes in Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, and across other cities in northern Iraq, close to the quake’s epicentre.
The quake was even felt in the Iranian capital Tehran, with some villages hit by power cuts, Iranian state TV reported.
“The quake was felt in several Iranian provinces bordering Iraq ... Eight villages were damaged ... Electricity has been cut in some villages and rescue teams have been dispatched to those areas,” TV reported.
Tremor felt in Bahrain
Residents in Bahrain also reported feeling a strong tremor. However, there were no immediate reports of damage. “I was on the eighth floor with my family when my wife pointed that the two chandeliers in our hall were swinging,” Joel Indrupati told DT News.
Another resident, Mahesh Bhatia, who resides in Juffair area, confirmed the incident saying that it had happened at approximately 9:38 am. Many have observed the tremors to have lasted for few seconds, yet its impact was strong enough to have shaken objects and buildings.
Bahrain resident also took to Twitter to share their experience. “Our building was shaking like crazy!”Lee Crow tweeted. “I was upset and ran out of the building with my two children,” Alison from Juffair tweeted.
Turkey’s southeastern city of Diyarbakir and Kuwait also reported feeling a strong tremor, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in the city.
No harm in Kuwait
Kuwait Fire Services Directorate (KFSD) said the earthquake that was felt by most of the people in Kuwait on Sunday did not cause any harm.
It added in a statement it received more than 40 calls from people saying they felt the tremor.
Kuwait National Seismic Network said a tremor measuring between 4-5 degrees on Richter scale hit the country, caused by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck Iraq-Iran borders.
The earthquake epicentre was in Iraq’s province of Sulaimaniya, 200 kilometres northeast of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
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