| Less than a year after devastating twin earthquakes in northwestern Iran, an earthquake of 6.1 magnitude hit
southwestern Iran near the city of Khvormuj and the towns of Kaki and Shonbeh in Bushehr province on 9 April
2013.123 Being felt in Persian Gulf coast, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, and eastern Saudi Arabia, the quake was so
massive that led to destruction of three thousand houses, 37 deaths (mostly in the town of Shonbeh and its
villages) and more than a thousand casualties.4 Thanks to the previous experiences from the 2012 twin
earthquakes, the official disaster mitigation committee took immediate actions to coordinate rescue operations.
56 Continuous efforts were channeled into searching for the rubbled victims; however, two villages in the
Khvormuj district were almost flattened. People rushing from the neighboring areas to offer their help slowed
down the rescue process, a similar obstacle faced in 2012 twin earthquakes.7 Overall, 160 victims were
transferred to and treated in the Khvormuj hospital, a university-affiliated hospital in Khvormuj district that
provided abundant medical services obviating any field hospitals establishment. Nevertheless, 139 survivors
were transferred to the hospitals in Bushehr for specialized care. Telecommunication was hampered within the
early hours after the earthquake resulting in discoordination among the rescue teams. The similar concern was
reported in the 2012 earthquakes in northwestern Iran.58 Except for an emergency need for blood supply which
was later met by the neighboring provinces, no serious medical shortage was reported. Unlike the previous
experiences in 2012 earthquake |