Iranian Quake Kills Thousands, Flattens City of Bam; 20,000 killed, 30,000 hurt.

Bloomberg ^ | 12/26/03 | Bloomberg

[Pikamax]

Iranian Quake Kills Thousands, Flattens City of Bam (Update3) Dec. 26 (Bloomberg) -- An earthquake in southern Iran today killed thousands of people in and around the historic city of Bam, and destroyed almost two-thirds of the city's buildings, the official IRNA news service reported.

[Urbane_Guerilla]

Oh this is so terrible ... I am certain America will help.

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

That is some serious damage.

[anniegetyourgun]

And, I'm certain that the U.N. will wring their hands.

[mewzilla]

I'm sure we would, too. I hope the Iranian gov't lets us.

[rageaholic]

Yeah and Islamic Jihad and Al Kaida will render assistance. Oh wait, I forgot they only break things and kill people.

[RightWhale]

I am certain America will help.

As fortune would have it, America is already very close by.

[Gal.5:1]

20,000 people!
:(

[saquin]

"More than 20,000 people have been killed Agence France- Presse said, citing the provincial governor's office. More than 30,000 have been hurt. The quake of magnitude 6.5 struck Bam at 5:26 a.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey."

"Earlier this week, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Central California coast. Two people were killed when a building collapsed in Paso Robles and as many as 50 people were injured."

There has to be an effort towards more earthquake-resistant construction in these impoverished areas of the world. It's just sick that a 6.5 earthquake in the US kills two people, while the same magnitude quake in Iran kills tens of thousands. It's so unnecessary.

[Renegade]

Was this quake caused by Emeril ???

[Indy Pendance]

This is really a tragedy, tens of thousands dead, and this beautiful city is in ruins.

Bam, Iran

Citadel and mud city of Bam

Located in southeastern Iran, 200 kilometers south of Kerman, the ruined city of Arg-e-Bam is made entirely of mud bricks, clay, straw and the trunks of palm trees. The city was originally founded during the Sassanian period (224-637 AD) and while some of the surviving structures date from before the 12th century, most of what remains was built during the Safavid period (1502-1722). During Safavid times, the city occupied six square kilometers, was surrounded by a rampart with 38 towers, and had between 9000 and 13,000 inhabitants. Bam prospered because of pilgrims visiting its Zoroastrian fire temple (dating to early Sassanian times) and as a commercial and trading center on the famous Silk Road. Upon the site of the Zoroastrian temple the Jame Mosque was built during the Saffarian period (866-903 AD) and adjacent to this mosque is the tomb of Mirza Naiim, a mystic and astronomer who lived three hundred years ago. Bam declined in importance following an invasion by Afghans in 1722 and another by invaders from the region of Shiraz in 1810. The city was used as a barracks for the army until 1932 and then completely abandoned. Intensive restoration work began in 1953 and continues today.

Safavid dynasty citadel, Bam

Mud city of Bam

Mud buildings of Bam

Mud buildings of Bam

Fortified walls of Bam

[McGavin999]

30,000 injured? God help them.

[ChefKeith]

Emeril

Don't blame My friend E!

[bigfootbob]

"Yeah and Islamic Jihad and Al Kaida will render assistance. Oh wait, I forgot they only break things and kill people."

Not according to my illustrious senior Senator, Patty Osama Momma bin Murray, C, WA (C=commie). They build daycares and hospitals.

I certainly hope the US provides some assistance to this ravaged unstable Country during this emergency.

[Cobra64]

Was this quake caused by Emeril ???

Someone said, "Bump it up a notch. Bam!"

[John H K]

Well, this most recent one in California was in the middle of nowhere.

Northridge was Magnitude 6.7 and did 50 billion dollars worth of damage and killed 50+ (and had Northridge been located even more towards downtown LA I could see it having killed several hundred).

It is unfortunate though, very basic earthquake-resistant construction isn't THAT expensive if it's incorporated in building something, but in the Third World, dirt-cheap rules.

[Eala]

I am sure we will. But one hopes the aid actually gets to them.

We are praying...

[RightWhale]

Apparently the town was built of mud bricks and palm tree timber, held together by gravity. Which is fine until it is shaken from below.

[Terabitten]

Posted: December 25, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Iran's minister of defense yesterday threatened Israel with a long-range missile attack should the Jewish state hit any nuclear facilities in the country. "We will strike Israel with all weapons at our disposal, if the Zionist regime ventures to do so," Ali Shamkhani told the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's government-controlled news outlet.

Coincidence? I think not.

[The Mayor]

The Lord has Spoken....

wow!