By Anthony McIntyre (from the Blanket)

At the beginning of this month Iranian government officials in Iran warned that fatalities resulting from the Bam earthquake could reach 50,000. The quake measured in at 6.6 on the Richter scale. If these estimates are accurate then Bam has been the site of the highest earthquake spawned death toll since the Chinese city of Tang-shan lost an estimated 242,419 of its population in 1976. It amounts to approximately 25% of the combined population of the Iranian city and its surrounding towns and villages. While the country's president has sought to pitch the anticipated death rate considerably lower, aid workers were not optimistic. Please register or log in to continue reading.