1,000 Quake-Hit Homes Uninhabitable

EghtesadOnline: The Islamic Revolution Housing Foundation’s assessment shows at least 1,000 residential properties of the quake-stricken city of Sisakht in southwestern Iran have become uninhabitable and need to be reconstructed, Alireza Tabesh, the head of the foundation, said.

News ID: ۷۸۶۰۹۵

23 February 2021

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Sisakht in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province on Wednesday night, leaving at least 63 injured, causing power blackouts and flattening buildings, Mehr News Agency reported.

“Of these units, 580 were located in the rural areas of the province and the rest were in the city of Sisakht, located on the foothills of Zagros Mountains, 34 km from Yasuj, in the northern part of the province,” he said.

Tabesh noted that 2,300 homes also experienced 30% damage and home appliances of another 2,300 residential units were destroyed.

“Up to 217 houses need to be rebuilt and 355 homes must be repaired in the neighboring villages of Isfahan Province and the city of Semirom. The appliances of 246 homes were damaged,” he said.

“Estimations regarding the cost of damages caused by the quake will be sent to the National Disaster Management Organization of the Interior Ministry and the Cabinet upon completion.”

The official announced that the Islamic Revolution Housing Foundation will offer 1 billion rials ($3,875) in reconstruction loan, plus a 200-million-rial ($775) grant to homes in urban areas and 800 million rials ($3,100) in reconstruction loan plus a 150-million-rial ($581) grant to rural properties.

“A total of 300 million rials [$1,161] in loan and a 150-million-rial [$581] grant will be paid for home repairs. The lending rate of all these loans is 4%,” he said.

Furthermore, debris removal procedure, the issuance of building permits and technical supervision on construction will be carried out free of charge.

Tabesh further said the foundation will provide quake-stricken people with free cement.

On Monday, the Iranian Cabinet agreed with the proposal of the Plan and Budget Organization to allocate 1,070 billion rials ($6.66 million) in grant and 3,070 billion rials ($11.89 million) in bank loans for households hit by the earthquake in Sisakht and Semirom, Dolat.ir reported.