Iranian state media say at least 436 people were killed and thousands more were injured when a massive earthquake struck near the Iran-Iraq border on November 14, flattening entire villages in a predominantly Kurdish and Sunni region. The Iranian government, the army and international aid organisation the Red Crescent sent aid to the affected areas, where water, food, tents, blankets, sanitary products and blood stocks were in desperately short supply. But it was the way in which Iranians came together to help their neighbours in the midst of a catastrophe that touched onlookers around the world.

The earthquake hit 7.3 on the Richter scale, and is considered to be the year’s deadliest earthquake anywhere in the world. Iranian officials say some 30,000 homes were either damaged or destroyed in the western province of Kermanshah. However, social media showed another side to the disaster: heartwarming images of Iranian people coming together to look after their fellow citizens.

Initially published on France24 on 11/17/2017
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