ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – An earthquake measuring 5.1 magnitude on the Richter scale struck Sarpole Zahab in the western province of Kermanshah injuring 21 people.
The earthquake hit Sarpole Zahab at 6:22 p.m. on Saturday evening with five more aftershocks ranging from 2.7 to 5.1 between 6:52 and 9:09 p.m. as reported by state-run IRNA on Sunday.
Sarpole Zahab was the hardest hit area of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake which struck the Iraq-Iran border the evening of November 12, 2017 which left 620 dead and over 12,000 wounded in Iran.
Since the November 12 earthquake, 1,600 aftershocks have been recorded in Kermanshah.
Ten cities and 1930 villages were affected across the province and poor quality construction of low-income housing in the Kurdish majority community is being blamed for the high death toll.
Across the border in the Kurdistan Region, ten people were killed and over 500 injured, with Darbandikhan being the most affected area.
Massive damage to private and public property was also reported in the Kurdistan Region by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) teams in Sulaimani, including Darbandikhan dam along with the Halabja hospital and the Sulaimani hospital.
The 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the evening of November 12 was the deadliest of 2017.
