No reported Filipino casualties in Iran quake – DFA

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday heaved a sigh of relief after reports from the earthquake devastated Iran mentioned no Filipino casualties from Saturday’s tragedy.

“So far, no report of Filipino casualties from the earthquake in Iran has been received,” Raul Hernandez, DFA spokesperson said in a text message.

Still Hernandez said that the Philippine Embassy in Tehran was ordered to continue monitoring the developments in the quake-hit region.

The embassy was also tasked to check with government agencies and Filipino community leaders on the situation of the Filipinos in the North Western region of the country.

On Monday, Iran raised the death toll from the earthquake to 306.

Scores of aftershocks have coursed through Iran’s mountainous northeast since the 6.4 and 6.3 magnitude quakes hit the region, where some 300,000 people live near the borders with Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Tehran University’s Seismological Centre reported that the temblors, which struck near the city of Tabriz, home to 1.5 million people, measured 6.2 and 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale.