AL HINMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Entire villages are gone, homes and buildings flattened by the powerful earthquake. Many victims are still trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. A massive rescue and relief effort is underway. The quake was centered in the northwest province of Zanjan, near the Caspian Sea. An estimated four million people live in what's described as Iran's most fertile and prosperous region. A British journalist who had just come through the area before the quake felt the tremor at her hotel in Tehran, more than 100 miles away.</s>DEBORAH TURNESS, BRITISH JOURNALIST: The reception area just started shaking, people started panicking, the chandeliers are rocking, and everybody shouted: Get out, get out.</s>HINMAN: The powerful earthquake hit in the middle of the night. Many people were awake, however, watching World Cup soccer competition. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.7. Instruments in Iran and Britain measured it at 7.3. A quake measuring seven is capable of widespread heavy damage. Anything over eight on the open-ended Richter scale can produce tremendous damage.</s>ANN NAEF, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: Iran is a disaster-prone country and the Iranian Red Cross is very well equipped for disaster relief operations.</s>HINMAN: Massive mud slides and the shear extent of the devastation make it tough for rescue and relief operations. Al Hinman, CNN reporting.
CNN 20: Earthquake in Iran, June 21, 1990