Death of Thousands in Bam Earthquake in Kerman - 2003-12-26

Iranian officials say that today's earthquake in the historic and tourist city in southern Iran has resulted in the deaths of thousands. Although no official casualty figures have been released yet, Iranian officials state that the death toll will not be less than two thousand. The historic citadel and fortress of Bam was built approximately two thousand years ago from mud bricks. The magnitude of today's earthquake is estimated at 6.3 on the Richter scale, while the United States Geological Survey has assessed the destructive power of this earthquake to be higher than 6.7. The governor of Kerman province says the damage to the city is very severe, and the historic citadel has been completely destroyed. Many houses in this area are also made of brick and mud. Telephone communication with the city of Bam, which has a population of about 50,000, has been cut off. The earthquake occurred at 5:30 local time (2:00 international time). Iran often experiences earthquakes and is located on several major seismic fault lines. Last June, an earthquake in northern Iran killed about 230 people and injured a thousand. Nearly 35,000 people died in powerful earthquakes in 1990 in northwestern Iran.