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Quake aid offered to IranScores dead, hundreds injured, villages flattened
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- Nations around the world are offering aid to Iran after an earthquake killed at least 66 people and injured more than 1,400 in the western part of the nation. Friday's quakes were centered near Borujerd and Doroud, two industrial cities about 210 miles southwest of Tehran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Provincial official Ali Barani said about 200 villages were damaged, some flattened, The Associated Press reported. U.S. President George W. Bush offered humanitarian aid Friday to the quake victims, while noting that relations between Iran and the United States are strained. "I do want to offer my country's assistance to the people affected by the recent earthquakes in Iran," Bush told a news conference in Cancun, Mexico, where he was meeting with Canadian and Mexican leaders. "We, obviously, have our differences with the Iranian government, but we do care about the suffering of the Iranian people." The state-run news service reported the magnitude of the primary quake as 6.0, and the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a magnitude 5.7. The large quake was sandwiched between two less-intense quakes measuring 4.7 in magnitude. All three quakes occurred within nine hours, with the first one hitting Thursday about 7:45 p.m. (10:15 a.m. ET) Barani told IRNA that rescue teams had been sent to the region. He said survivors were in urgent need of blankets, tents and food. Television showed survivors standing next to their destroyed houses in villages north of Doroud. The television also showed dozens of sheep and goats killed by the quake. Barani said hospitals in Doroud and Borujerd were full to capacity. Officials called on doctors and nurses on leave to get back to work, AP reported. Iranians are celebrating Nowruz, or new year, and most government offices are closed and their staff on holiday. "We are afraid to get back home. I spent the night with my family and guests in open space last night," Doroud resident Mahmoud Chaharmiri told AP by telephone. But Chaharmiri said there were no scenes of destruction in Doroud such as those after previous quakes. In February 2005, a 6.4-magnitude quake rocked the town of Zarand in southern Iran, killing 612 people and injuring more than 1,400. A magnitude 6.6 quake flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam in the same region in December 2003, killing 26,000 people. Iran is on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one slight earthquake every day on average, AP reported. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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