Security Prevailing in Quake-Hit Areas in Western Iran: Commander

After rumors circulated in some social media networks spreading that some of the relief aid dispatched to the region has been stolen, Brigadier General Manouchehr Amanollahi denied them and ensured that proper security prevails in the province of Kermanshah, in the Western of Iran. The Sunday earthquake whose epicenter was near Halabjah, Southeast of Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah, measured 7.3 on the Richter scale, killed at least 435 people, injured over 7800 and left massive damages in the Iranian border province, as the latest statistics announced. Kermanshah’s provincial officials also said about 12.000 houses both in urban and rural regions across the province have been totally razed to the ground in the disaster due to the strong earthquake. The province’s police chief called on people, especially those in the affected areas, to cooperate with the police and relief organizations in ensuring order and providing the necessary services. Iranian medical officials declared that several field hospitals have been set up in the province and a number of administrative buildings have been used to accommodate the people made homeless in the disaster, as the temperature drops sharply in the night. Meanwhile, Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi who has visited the quake-hit region, described the devastation as extensive. “Despite the lack of medical facilities in hospitals in the province, however, health and medical services provided to the victims have been acceptable”, as the minister added.