A 7.3 Richter earthquake hit the bordering regions of Iran and Iraq on Sunday. With devastating impacts, the tremors were felt wide across the region. So far the death toll is between 530 and 580 with over 7800 injured. This is the deadliest ever earthquake to have hit the region.

Most of the damage has been to the Western Province of Karmanshah of Iran which falls near the epicenter of the quake. This quake tremors were felt even in Pakistan, Israel, UAE, Qatar and Turkey too. A total of 8 earthquakes have hit the region so far and the death toll is on a rise. More tremors felt near Halabjah and Khanaquin on the Iraqi side, and near Sarpol-e Zahab and Qasr-e Shirin in the Iranian province of Kermanshah.

The epicentre of the earthquake was near Halabjah. This epicenter falls on the 1,500 kilometre-fault line between the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates which caused the drift of earth plates resulting in quake. This is common for the region.

In Iraq, tremors were felt at 7am, 12pm, and 6pm. In Iran, tremors were felt at 12am, 3am, 7am, 11am, and 4pm. US geological survey has confirmed a total of 150 quake aftershocks following the initial big one.

Emergency is declared in Iran and residents were told to sleep outside as a precautionary measure. The Iranian Red Crescent said they need over 700000 shelters. It is "difficult to send rescue teams to the villages because the roads have been cut off ... there have been landslides," said Iran's emergency services chief, Pir Hossein Koolivand.

President Rouhani said: "I wholeheartedly sympathise with all the injured and the victims of this disaster, and ask the Almighty [for] mercy for those who lost their lives, swift recovery for the injured and patience and health for those fellow Iranians who lost their beloved one."

Ayatollah Khamenei, the country's supreme leader, said: "During these past two days, officials, including the president, visited and expressed their sympathy for the survivors. I hope that these sympathetic attitudes continue, in practice, effectively helping the people; and, I hope they can reduce the pain and sufferings of the people, considering the cold weather is upon us”

"The United Nations stands ready to assist efforts to respond to the deadly earthquake that struck Iran and Iraq on Sunday," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

More reports to come in.

By Minu Manisha