(VOVWORLD) - Iran has finished rescue activities in areas hit by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake on Sunday which killed more than 540 people and injured almost 8,000.
The powerful earthquake struck the Iran-Iraq border region and affected at least 14 provinces in Iran, of which the mountainous Kermanshah province was most severely affected.
The earthquake damaged 30,000 houses and destroyed two villages. Water and electricity were cut off. Thousands of people crowded into tents and many others spent the night outside, fearing aftershocks. The Iranian seismological center registered around 200 aftershocks.
The Kermanshah authorities declared three days of mourning.