Iranian state TV says at least 40 people have been killed by a major earthquake near the Iran-Pakistan border.
Press TV gave no further details on the extent of damage in the sparsely populated areas. But the quake shook buildings as far away as New Delhi and Gulf cities of Dubai and Bahrain.
Iran's seismological center said the 7.5 magnitude earthquake was centered near Saravan, a sparsely populated area about 48 kilometers (26 miles) from the Pakistani border. The U.S. Geological Survey put the preliminary magnitude at 7.8 and at a depth of 15.2 kilometers (nine miles).
In his Google hangout on gun control today, Vice President Joe Biden made this recommendation: "So you want to keep people away in an earthquake? Buy some shotgun shells."
Biden said the shotgun would be better to keep away folks after a devastating earthquake than an "assault weapon."
Japanese authorities on Tuesday raised the severity rating of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to the highest level on an international scale, on a par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
The situation with the Japanese nuclear reactors, which were badly damaged as a result of the devastating 9.0 earthquake earlier this month, seems to be getting worse. The New York Times reports:
According to CNN, "Japan's national police say 8,928 people are confirmed dead after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami March 11 pulverized entire towns, leaving broken wood beams and massive piles of rubble where organized neighborhoods once stood."
Hundreds have already been confirmed dead, following the earthquake that struck Japan. The quake measured an 8.9 on the Richter scale. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Oh, Almighty Google Machine--I kid! We know you're not evil. You're the most benevolent algorithm ever. But everyonce inawhile, Google (which owns YouTube) drops a little data point about how it sees the world.
The U.S. Geological Survey maintains that the earthquake that hit the remote Tibetan town of Jyeku (the Chinese call it Yushu) in the early morning of April 14 measured 6.9 on the Richter scale, while the Chinese government has said that the quake's intensity was 7.1 (which would mean that it was approximately the same strength as the brutal earthquake that recently hit Haiti). By any measure, though, this was a strong quake that has devastated an area largely untouched by China's economic miracle.
For my recent week in Haiti, I was armed by our art director with a camera, and commanded to take usable pictures. I am not a professional photographer, but he assures me these qualify. (In this week's print edition of THE WEEKLY STANDARD, you can see more photographs from shooters who actually know what they're doing.) Here's hoping the additional snaps more clearly illuminate a wild and devastated place. (Warning: Some photos are extremely graphic.) And by all means, read the accompanying story, since I am, arguably, a professional writer.
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