"The governor general of the province of Kerman, Mohammad Ali Karimi, he believed that 5,000 to 6,000 people had died and that the toll would probably rise." http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/26/international/deadly-earthquake-jolts-city-in-southeast-iran.html By NAZILA FATHIDEC. 26, 2003 The devastating earthquake leveled nearly three-quarters of the Iranian city of Bam on Friday. The preliminary death toll increased on Saturday to 20,000, the Interior Ministry said, and rescue crews said it could go even higher. https://www.albawaba.com/news/devastating-earthquake-hits-iran-death-toll-may-rise-40000 Published December 27th, 2003 - 02:00 GMT In the last week of December 2003 a powerful earthquake rocked the city of Bam in Iran. Within only 14 seconds thousands of people were buried under the flattened homes and destroyed buildings. http://www.minhaj.org/english/Iran/...y-mwf-minhaj-ul-quran-welfare-foundation.html Dated: 20 December 2003 (typo)? The 2003 Bam earthquake struck the Kerman province of southeastern Iran at 01:56 UTC (5:26 AM Iran Standard Time) on December 26. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake The time difference between NY and Tehran is: 10 hours and 30 minutes ahead in Tehran. 5:26 AM (Iran Time) on Dec. 26 would mean 7:56 PM New York Time on Dec. 25. The difference between 20,000 and 6,000 is 6,000 x 2.33 (times).
