The number of people who lost their lives following the Friday earthquake that struck Iran’s northwest provinces has risen due to lack of relief.
At least five people were initially killed and hundreds more injured after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck East Azerbaijan province on Friday, according to Iran’s Seismological Center.
One of the victims, 10-year-old Zahra Abedi was pulled alive from the ruins of her home in an earthquake-stricken village but later died as timely medical treatment was not available.
On the night of the earthquake, no doctor was in the village. So, Zahra’s father had to take her to the nearby town of Turkmanchay, but there was also a power outage and, consequently, Zahra died.
Another villager from disaster-struck regions told the state-run ISNA news agency on November 8, that the sick and wounded are still left unattended. The villager who lost his wife and niece in this earthquake, said his niece, 12, died on the way to hospital. “If there were a hospital, no one would have died.”
The death toll has risen to eight so far, due to lack of relief as the authorities are failing to take any adequate measures.
The cold winter weather of the Iran’s earthquake-hit areas has left Iranians who lost their homes facing very difficult circumstances. In the town of Varankesh, temperatures reach around minus two degrees Celsius. The town of Varzghan has witnessed temperatures drop to minus six degrees Celsius. More than 3,000 locals of the earthquake-hit villages, towns and cities are currently living in tents and are in dire need of trailers.
A young couple were recently poisoned during sleep as they lit a charcoal burner to warm up their tent. The couple died but their 15-day-old baby was recovered in hospital.
Reports indicate people’s needs are vast following the earthquake, with people urgently requiring shelter, warm clothes, food, fuel and emergency medical care.
A magnitude 7 earthquake striking Kermanshah and other parts of western Iran in 2017 killed more than 600 people and injured more than 9,000. According to reports and videos published on social media networks, the financial damage caused by the earthquake was considerable.
Two years after the devastating earthquakes that struck west Iran, Kermanshah Province is still struggling to bounce back as the Iranian regime has done almost nothing to restore the residents’ housing, health and livelihood.
