Iran earthquake: At least 700 people injured after 6.3-magnitude quake hits near Iraq border

Landslides triggered in some areas, while fear of aftershocks force many to spend night on street

Last year a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in the same region killed hundreds and left thousands homeless (ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty )

At least 700 people have been injured after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 hit western Iran near its border with Iraq, according to state television.

The earthquake on Sunday night was felt in at least seven provinces of Iran, but most strongly in Kermanshah where last year more than 600 people were killed in an earthquake.

“Rouhani has ordered officials to do whatever is necessary to provide help for the victims of the earthquake,” state TV reported.

The head of Iran's Red Crescent Society, Mahmoud Mohammadi Nasab, told TV that there were no fatalities.

TV-aired footage of damaged houses in the town of Sarpol-e Zahab in Kermanshah where some people remain homeless following last year's 7.3-magnitude earthquake.

“We have had 729 injured, 700 of them have been treated and released ... some 18 people have been hospitalised,” Houshang Bazvand, governor of the western province of Kermanshah, told state TV.

Iran's state news agency IRNA said another two earthquakes measuring 5.2 and 4.6 on the Richter scale had jolted Sarpol-e Zahab on Monday morning following Sunday's earthquake and 161 aftershocks.

Fears of aftershocks forced many people to spend the night out on the streets in cold weather. The earthquake triggered landslides in some areas, but Iranian authorities said rescue teams had access to all towns and villages.

Iran sits astride major fault lines and is prone to frequent tremors. In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake in Kerman province killed 31,000 people and flattened the historic city of Bam.

Sunday's tremor was also felt in Kuwait and the Iraqi capital Baghdadas well as in Erbil in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and other Iraqi provinces, but no damage was reported.

Reuters