TEHRAN, June 2 (Xinhuanet) -- A powerful earthquake which hit Iran on Friday imposed 100 percent damage upon 27 villages in the northern province of Mazandaran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    IRNA quoted Mazandaran Natural Disasters Headquarters as saying that 162 other village's sustained damage in varying forms and at least 6,500 buildings had been damaged.

    The quake, measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, struck the Caspian Sea province of Mazandaran and jolted almost half of Iran on Friday.

    According to official sources, it has left at least 30 people dead and 250 others injured. The total damage has been estimated at520 billion rials (60 million US dollars). Enditem