August 27, 2010 Earthquake: Damghan-Torud, Iran

At least three people killed, several hundred injured and 700 homes destroyed in the Damghan-Torud area. Felt (IV) at Shahrud and (II) at Europus. Also felt at Ardabil, Ashrafabad, Damghan, Eslamshahr, Meydan-e Qods, Qarchak, Sarivdeh, Shahrak-e Qods and Shahriar. (reference #1053)

Iran is cleaning up Saturday after an earthquake overnight left at least three people dead and scores injured. The country's interior minister says that hospitals and the Iranian Red Crescent have been tending to the victims of the quake, which registered 5.9 on the Richter scale. Buildings shook and walls collapsed into piles of rubble, as citizens scurried for cover in the northern Iranian province of Semnan, overnight Saturday. Frightened villagers in the hard-hit region of Damghan spent the rest of the night outdoors, wrapped in blankets, amid fears of fresh aftershocks. Experts from Iran's seismological center indicated that the quake was felt as far away as the capital, Tehran. Iranian TV also reported that there were more than a dozen aftershocks. the capital, Tehran. Iranian TV also reported that there were more than a dozen aftershocks. Iran's Interior Minister Mohammad Mustapha Najjar toured the stricken area and described what happened to journalists. He says that during the night an earthquake measuring 5.9 struck the region of Damghan and centered in the area of Torouk, killing three people, including an elderly woman, and that several hundred people were wounded. He adds that 700 homes were destroyed, but that the government has set up a fund to help them. (reference #8557)