Death toll in Iran quake now at 370

The death toll in today's powerful earthquake in central Iran has risen to at least 370, with more than 1,000 injured.

The earthquake destroyed whole villages. Residents are still frantically searching for loved ones in collapsed mud-brick homes.

The magnitude-6.4 quake struck the mountainous region shortly before dawn, damaging at least 40 villages and affecting some 30,000 people, officials said.

Footage on Iranian television showed survivors slapping their faces in grief as they sat next to the dead.

Survivors pleaded for help finding the buried: “What a catastrophe. Please help us,” one said.

Rain hampered rescue efforts, and temperatures were expected to turn bitterly cold after nightfall, increasing residents’ misery. Emergency officials tried to evacuate survivors to nearby towns and cities.

Relief officials said they were benefiting from their experience in the far more devastating 2003 earthquake that hit nearby Bam, killing 26,000 people and flattening the historic city.

While homes made of mud collapsed in today’s quake, cement buildings appeared not to have sustained heavy damage. The damage was reduced by the region’s sparse population and the depth of the quake – 25 miles compared to the 6.6-magnitude Bam quake’s depth of six miles, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake was centred on the outskirts of Zarand, a town of about 15,000 people in Kerman province about 600 miles south-east of the capital Tehran.

In the nearby village of Sarbagh, close to 80% of the buildings were destroyed by the quake.

Kerman’s governor, Mohammad Ali Karimi, said “several villages have been destroyed.”

Television footage showed a village almost flattened with few mud-brick walls still standing.

Residents could be seen digging frantically amid collapsed slabs of concrete and piles of dirt in a bid to find people buried under the rubble.

Victims wrapped in bloodied bandages or with broken legs and hands were shown in a local hospital.

“All hospitals in Zarand are filled to capacity with the injured. Hospitals in the town cannot receive any more of the injured,” the broadcast said, showing images of elderly women and men lying on beds with various injuries.

The governor of Zarand, identified only as Rashidi, said power in the region was disrupted. He said supplies were needed, especially medicine, syringes and tents.

Soltani said the experience of the Bam quake helped local authorities cope with the situation.

“The earthquake in 2003 gave us a very good experience of how to deal with such a natural disaster. Despite the rain, relief operations are going smoothly. Relief teams have reached the villages and are helping the survivors,” he said.

Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one slight earthquake every day on average.