TEHRAN -- An official says relief teams have provided temporary accommodation to all families affected by a 5.4-magnitude earthquake that hit near the city of Khoy, in the northwestern Iranian province of West Azarbaijan on Wednesday.
According to the Seismological Center of the Institute of Geophysics of Tehran University, the tremor struck an area some nine kilometers northwest of Khoy at 13:38 p.m. local time (1008 GMT) at a depth of 10 km.
“The process of providing people with temporary accommodation has been completed,” Muhammad Hassan Nami, head of the National Disaster Management Organization of Iran, said on Thursday. “For now, there is no need for public donations as all required facilities are available.”
In a report on Thursday morning, the seismological center said 15 aftershocks had hit the area since Wednesday noon, with nine of them being above 3 on the Richter scale.
According to the latest reports, 194 people were injured during the strongest aftershock and were taken to local hospitals; however, only 24 individuals have been hospitalized.
The quake has had no death toll so far.
Initial estimates show that the jolt has caused damage to some 500 houses in Firuraq city and nearby villages as a detailed report on the extent of damage is expected in the next 48 hours.
Affected people in Firuraq have been accommodated in sporting halls, Nami said, adding that in nearby villages, as people wanted to be accommodated near their own homes, some 2,000 tents and heating devices have been offered to people so that they can stay there till aftershocks stop.
Relief teams have provided people with food rations for their next 72 hours, the official noted, adding that warm meals are also being distributed among people since Thursday.
Rescue teams were dispatched to the affected areas immediately after the jolt and high-ranking Iranian officials urged the related bodies to perform relief operations as soon as possible.
On Wednesday evening, President Ebrahim Raisi expressed sympathy with the affected people, calling on responsible organizations in the province to promptly provide people with temporary accommodation and other related equipment.
Etezad Moqimi, an official with the energy ministry, said Thursday that groups were busy providing tents with electricity. A few problems in the affected area’s grid that were caused by the quake were solved, he said, noting that no problem with the water distribution network has been reported.
Another 5.4-magnitude earthquake also struck Khoy on October 5, 2022, damaging more than 5,000 houses in the area.