Two earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.4 and 6.2 on the Richter scale hit Northwest Iran, Eastern Azerbaijan Province on 11 August 2012. According to the reports of Seismological Centre of Tehran University, the epicenter of the first earthquake was Owrang village located in Ahar city and the epicenter of the second one was between Ali Abad and Zang Abad villages in Varzaghan city.
The devastating earthquakes have resulted in the death of 306 persons and injury of around 2,600 persons. The main destruction has been in the rural areas.
A total of 399 villages have been affected in Varzaghan, Ahar, Haris and Tabriz cities in Northwest iran. Of these, 356 villages have been destroyed by 30-100%, while 46 villages have been completely flattened.
The earthquakes have left 157,403 people (approximately 34,200 households) in need of humanitarian assistance.