National Geoscience Database Of IRAN

Iran: Earthquake OCHA Situation Report

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Iranian Red Crescent : http://www.reliefweb.int

   Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
   Date: 28 May 2004

   Iran: Earthquake OCHA Situation Report No. 1

   Ref: OCHA/GVA -2004/0078
   OCHA Situation Report No. 1
   Iran - Earthquake
   Occurred on 28 May 2004
   This report is based on information provided by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Tehran, the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tehran, the Swiss Seismological Service (SED), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the media.
   Situation
   1. Today, at 17:08:43 local time, an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale (as reported by OCHA Tehran according to the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology) struck northern Iran in Baladeh and Yush villages, in Mazanderan Province. According to Iranian Officials, the epicenter was in the village of Baladeh, close to the Caspian Sea and 69 kilometers north of Tehran. The earthquake also shook Tehran, Golestan, Guilan, Qazvin and Semnan provinces. State television reported the earthquake was felt from the Caspian Sea provinces to the central city of Isfahan, the northwest city of Ardebil as well as in southern Turkey. As much as 15 aftershocks, including one measuring 4.4, were felt.
   2. So far 6 deaths and eight injured are reported by the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), as 5 persons were killed in Mazanderan Province and one in the Qasvin Province. Destruction of few houses is also reported by the Iranian Red Crescent. Chaloos road to the Caspian sea has been blocked in three points because of sand downfalls. In Tehran, the earthquake shook buildings, shattering some windows and bringing people out into the streets, according to reporters in the capital. The state news agency Irna said roads were damaged and there were reports of power cuts in some areas.
   3. The data on damage and impact of the earthquake is based on information available at this stage and is subject to change.

   National Response
   4. The General Commander of the Law and Enforcement Forces has declared that all its relief workers will be on alert in Tehran and police will be patrolling in Tehran and other provinces throughout the night.
   5. Local Taskforce and IRCS stations sent rescue missions to the affected areas. The IRCS in Qazvin sent SAR teams with sniffing dogs to Abyek and Alamut (nearby districts). An IRCS helicopter has was sent to Yush and Baladeh for monitoring the losses and destruction
   International Response
   6. OCHA has not received a request for international assistance from the Government of Iran.
   7. OCHA is in close contact with the UNRC's office in Tehran.This situation report, together with further information on other ongoing emergencies is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int.

   Source: Iranian Red Crescent
   Date: 30 May 2004

   Information Bulletin No: 2 Iran - earthquake

   Situation:
   The 28-May strong earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale led to the death of at least 35 people and injured 220 persons on Friday at 5:17 pm (13:47 GMT) in three provinces of Mazandaran, Qazvin, and Tehran. The epicenter was in the village of Baladeh, 43 miles northeast of Tehran, near the Caspian Sea.
   The tremor was also felt in the provinces of Qom, Esfahan, Gilan, Zanjan, Ardebil and Markazi. The earthquake damaged 75 villages in the cities of Noshahr, Chalous and Nour in Mazandaran province and 42 villages in Alamout region in Qazvin province. The villages hit hardest in Alamout region are about 80 miles west of Tehran. Around 7 villages of Taleghan region in north of Tehran were affected by the disaster but the rate of destruction is not too much. The quake also sent many people in Tehran scurrying into the streets and caused panic among people.