7.2-magnitude Iraq-centered earthquake felt throughout Israel
From Haifa to Be'er Sheba, residents report feeling the earthquake, which spread from Halabjah, Iraq; earthquake hit peak of 7.2 magnitude on the Richter scale; no injuries or damage have been reported in Israel.
Residents all over Israel reported Sunday evening they felt an earthquake. At the same time, the US Geological Survey confirmed the quake on its website, placing its epicenter at around 32km (19 miles) outside the Iraqi city of Halabja, and issuing an "orange" alert for "shaking-related fatalities and economic losses." There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in Israel.
The tremor was reported in the central cities of Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Ramat Gan, Kiryat Ono, Ganei Tikva and Rehovot, the southern cities of Be'er Sheva and Ofakim and in northern city of Haifa.
Elad Hopper, who lives in a high-rise building in Hod Hasharon, said: "I felt like I was sailing, I thought it was spinning, and then the building's WhatsApp (social phone network—ed) filled up with people's announcements that they had felt the tremor."
Danny, a Petah Tikva resident who lives on the tenth floor, said: "We felt the trembling throughout the building. The lamps moved from side to side."
"I live on the eighth floor, all the furniture in the house moved," Gadi, a resident of Herzliya, added.
At least four people died and dozens were wounded after the major earthquake struck large parts of Iraq, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Health Minister Rekawt Hama Rasheed.
The most extensive damage was in the town of Darbandikhan, 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of the city of Sulaimaniyah, and more than 30 people were injured in the town.
The district’s main hospital was severely damaged and had no power, Rasheed said, so the injured were being taken to Sulaimaniyah for treatment.
Several people were killed and many others were injured in border areas of Iran, Iran's state TV reported.
"The quake was felt in several Iranian provinces bordering Iraq ... Eight villages were damaged ... Electricity has been cut in some villages and rescue teams have been dispatched to those areas," TV reported.
Iranian media gave contradictory figures on the number of people killed in the quake. Semi-official Fars news agency and state news agency IRNA said at least six people were killed and many others injured in the border town of Qasr-e Shirin.
But governor of Qasr-e Shirin Faramarz Akbari said only two people had died in the town and 25 others were injured.
