[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

TEHRAN, 13 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - During 2005, Iran was on a rollercoaster ride of earthquakes, disasters, major political reshuffles and high-profile human rights cases. And all of this overshadowed by an escalating nuclear crisis and a new Islamic fundamentalist president.

Winning 62 percent of the vote in a second round presidential run-off poll, the victory of ultra-conservative former Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June presidential elections marked

As a follow up of the earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale which recently shook Qeshm Island in Hormozgan province, IRCS relief workers are still in the scene and doing their utmost to respond the need of the affected people. In this respect, IRCS provincial branch of Hormozgan distributed 74,151 tins of tuna fish, 46,700 tins of canned beans, 40,920 kgs of rice, 10,445 kgs of sugar, 16,836 kgs of edible oil, 5,986 kgs of pulses, and 1,133 kgs of tea. In line with the aforesaid distributed food items, some other relief items enclosing 4,696 sets of

Vatican City, 2 December 2005 - Caritas Internationalis has launched an appeal for more than US$200,000 to support earthquake-battered communities on Qeshm Island in southern Iran. On 27 November, an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck the island (population 123,000), killing at least 10 people, injuring 200, and damaging some 4,000 houses, 2,500 of which were completely destroyed. The villages of Tunban and Gavazin were among the worst hit, while considerable damages were also reported in the villages of Turian, Karevan, Kushe, Ziran, and Tomsenety.

Ref: OCHA/GVA - 2005/0213

OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Qeshm Earthquake - Iran
Occurred 27 November 2005

This report is based on information received from the OCHA office in Tehran and the outcome of the UN Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) meeting held on 30 November.

Situation

1. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake, with a depth of 18 kms, lasting around 10 seconds occurred in the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm in northern Iran on 27 November at 13:53 pm local time (10:23 am GMT). The epicenter was Darghahan Port, north of the Island (at

An earthquake measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale hit surrounding areas of Qeshm in the Persian Gulf in southern Iran on Monday evening following two killer quakes that hit the coastal area and its neighboring villages on Sunday.

Iran's seismological bases registered the tremor at 20:45 local time (17:15 GMT).

There are no reports of damage or casualties caused by this latest tremor.

The first and second tremors, measuring 5.9 and 5.5 on the Richter scale at 13:53 (10:23 GMT) and 20:41 (17:11 GMT), respectively, killed 10 people and injured 80 on the Persian Gulf's

TEHRAN, Nov 29 (Reuters) - As soon as the siren rings, the girls dive for cover under their desks.

Schoolchildren went through their annual drills across Iran on Tuesday to prepare for an earthquake, a necessary exercise in a country criss-crossed with lethal faultlines and where tens of thousands of people have been killed in earthquakes.

"They teach us here how to react and we teach our parents," said 14-year-old Atefeh Ebrahimi.

When the all-clear is given, they dash to their schoolmates playing wounded on the classroom floor to bandage

Geneva, 28 November, 2005 - A powerful earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale has hit southern Iran, killing at least 13 people. The earthquake struck Gheshm Island and the city of Bandar Abbas at 13:53 local time on Sunday morning. Gheshm Island is a tourist destination and home to some 120,000 people.
According to the latest reports, the most affected area was the north-western part of the island where six villages - Gavarzin, Tonbaan, Gooshe, Karvaan, Ghorbadan and Beyposht - were almost completely destroyed. 60 people on the island were injured while about

By Saeed Komeijani

QESHM ISLAND, Iran, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Aid workers handed out blankets and food on Monday to thousands of people on the Iranian Gulf island of Qeshm left homeless by an earthquake which destroyed a dozen villages and killed at least 10 people.

Sunday's tremor, with a magnitude of at least 5.9, injured scores more, stretching the capacity of the island's main hospital. Fearful of aftershocks, most of Qeshm's residents slept in cars, tents or in the open air overnight.

It was the second fatal earthquake this