Earthquake on the border between Iraq and Iran felt in Armenia

ArmInfo. On November 12, at 22.18 local time (according to Greenwich at 18.18), the Seismic Protection Service of the Ministry of Emergencies recorded an earthquake on the border of Iraq and Iran.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency  Situations of the Republic of Armenia, the earthquake occurred 33 km  north of Sarpol-e Zahab in the Iranian province of Kermanshah.  The  magnitude was 7.2. The hearth of the earthquake lay at a depth of 20  km. The strength of the tremors in the epicenter was 9-10 points. In  the southern and central regions of Armenia, the earthquake was felt  by force of 3 points.

Note that according to the BBC, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3  killed more than 130 people, six more died in Iraq. Number of victims  continues to grow. Hundreds of people were injured. The earthquake  caused panic among the population, residents fled from their homes to  the streets. Mosques in the Iraqi capital Baghdad broadcast prayers  through loudspeakers. Many people suffered in the city of Sarpol-e  Zahab, about 15 kilometers from the border, said the head of the  rescue service of Iran, Pir-Hossein Kulivand. Destructions were  recorded in at least eight villages, the head of the Iranian branch  of the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent,  Morteza Salim, told Iranian state-run IRINN television channel. "In  some villages there were power outages, their telecommunications  system was broken," he said. 

About 70 thousand Iranians lost their homes. According to Pir-Hossein  Kulivand, the work of rescuers is complicated by landslides. The  tremors were felt also in Turkey, Israel and Kuwait. As a result of  the earthquake, the dam of Darbandhan in Iraqi Kurdistan also  suffered. Currently, experts are studying how serious these injuries  are. The authorities urged local residents "not to approach the dam  in the interests of their own security.