The quake 12 years ago left some 37,000 people dead and more than 100,000 injured

TEHRAN, June 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - More than 500 people were killed and 1,000 injured in an earthquake measuring 6.0 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale early Saturday in northern and western Iran, state radio reported.

"The number of injured people is very high; exact figures are still not available, but there will be many casualties," Majid Shalviri, who heads the Red Crescent society in Qazvin, one of eight affected provinces, said earlier.

Apart from those killed around the epicenter near Bouynzahra, three deaths amid more than 100 injuries were also reported in Razan, a district in neighboring Hamedan province.

Iranian News Agency (IRNA) earlier quoted local officials as saying that with more than 120 people reported injured in Avaj, hospitals in the area were full.

He said the death toll of 200 people was limited to Bouyzahra, while three people were also killed in neighboring Hamedan province.

He said the earlier reported measurement of 5.2 degrees was that of several aftershocks.

The quake hit Bouyzahra in the northwestern Qazvin province at 7:28 am (0258 GMT), followed by an aftershock measuring 4.8 degrees at 8:01 am (0331 GMT) and left "three people dead with over 20 villages in the Avaj region of that province suffering damages of over 50 percent."

"Over 120 people have been reported as injured in Avaj," IRNA said, citing local officials, adding that "hospitals in Avaj are full."

A further "three people were killed and 50 people injured in Razan," a town in the western Hamedan province, it said.

A total of eight provinces were shaken, including the Tehran province, Central province, the northern Gilan and Ardebil provinces and the western Zanjan and Kodestan provinces, state television reported.

Ten villages in Razan and three villages in Kabutarahang, in Hamedan province, suffered damages of between 50 and 70 percent, state radio reported.

Relief workers and aid agencies, including the nation's Red Crescent organization, have been sent to the area of the quake’s epicenter, as well as other affected regions, with dozens of helicopters en route as well.

The tremor was felt strongly throughout the capital of 10 million inhabitants, moving furniture and breaking china, especially in the northern residential district of Farmanieh.

People went out into the streets "to find out what was going on" and "to be reassured," a building concierge told AFP.

The quake, the most serious for several years, was also felt in the east and south of Tehran. Ali Faramarz, who was opening his tool shop, spoke of "panic" and furniture being overturned. Electricity was cut off in homes.

IRNA said the "aftershocks of Saturday's quake will be felt for the coming two weeks."

Iran is one of the most quake-prone regions in the world, with almost daily tremors.

Newspaper reports regularly warn of possible severe earthquakes, with published studies warning officials that necessary measures  are needed to reduce potential damage and increase the effectiveness of relief efforts.

On June 21, 1990, an earthquake measuring 7.6 degrees on the Richter scale shook Iran's northern Gilan province. Roudbar, the location of its epicenter, was also affected by Saturday's quake.

The quake 12 years ago left some 37,000 people dead and more than 100,000 injured, with three cities and 600 villages completely destroyed.

The extent of damages are often increased by the weak structure of buildings, while relief efforts are hampered by badly built roads.

A report in Saturday's Hamshahri paper, which belongs to the Tehran municipality, said the people of Roudbar "today still suffer from the damages of the (1990) quake. Many of the affected areas have not been cleaned up and rebuilt."

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