Iran's Rouhani inspects quake damages, pledges compensation to losses

A damaged building is seen following an earthquake in Sarpol-e Zahab county in Kermanshah, Iran Nov 13, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

TEHRAN - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday travelled to Iran's western Kermanshah province to inspect the damage and rescue operations in the regions hit by a deadly earthquake on Sunday night, state TV reported.

Rouhani extended condolences to the families of victims of the huge earthquake that claimed the lives of hundreds and injured thousands.

He said that the government will take all efforts to solve the problems in the region in the shortest possible time and will help the affected people rebuild their dwellings.

The Iranian Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the voluntary Basij forces, the Red Crescent and the Islamic Revolution Housing Foundation as well as the ministries of energy, interior affairs, health, and roads and urban development are all providing assistance to the people in need, Rouhani said.

The Sunday night quake's epicenter, measuring 7.3 magnitude on the Richter scale, was located approximately 32 km south of the city of Halabja in a remote mountainous region of eastern Iraq, some 200 km north-east of Baghdad and 400 km west of Tehran, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake hit the area at 9:18 pm local time (0018 GMT), when many people would have been at home, the US Geological Survey said.

So far, over 230 after-shakes varied from 4.5 to 6.1 magnitude have hit the region.

The preliminary estimated loss caused by the recent strong quake in Iran stood around 450 million US dollars, Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

A report on the quake's damage inflicted on the residential, commercial, industrial, and administrative structures was handed over to President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday, the Construction Deputy of Kermanshah province governor office, Mojtaba Nik-Kerdar, was quoted as saying.

Some 11,000 residential buildings in the rural areas plus 5,000 residential buildings in urban areas have been ruined, Nik-Kerdar said.