Quakes cause over $650 million in damage in East Azerbaijan

AHAR, East Azarbaijan Province,Aug14 (MNA) – According to initial estimates, the earthquakes which hit East Azarbaijan Province on Saturday have caused 8 trillion rials (over 650 million dollars) in damage, a local official said on Monday. “It is an initial estimate from the quake and there is a possibility that the costs will increase,” Mohammad Ashrafi, the deputy governor of the province, told the Mehr News Agency. According to the latest count, 306 people were killed and more than 2000 were injured in the two successive earthquakes that hit the northwestern province on Saturday afternoon. Ashrafi said 307 villages have suffered damage ranging from “1 to 100 percent” and cracks appeared in some buildings in four cities in the earthquake zone, Ashrafi added.