They are being called the twin quakes , one a magnitude 6.4, a relatively lightly populated region in northwestern Iran. The epicenter is near the town of Ahar.

TEHRAN –- More than 180 people reported killed & 1,300 injured Saturday when twin earthquakes struck northwestern Iran, forcing entire villages smashing to the ground.

one of them measuring magnitude 6.4, struck the sparsely populated region Saturday afternoon, and as rescue efforts continued through the night & the death toll is expected to rise .

the coroner's office in the town of Ahar, near the epicenter, told Iran's official news agency IRNA that 35 people had been killed there and that the toll could rise to 40 times that number.

Four villages near Ahar were destroyed and 60 suffered heavy damage according to an official in the region.

"The jolt was strong. We rushed outdoors and into the streets in a panic," said one resident in the city of Tabriz, an hour southwest of Ahar.

even five hours away residents felt the shaking.

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