People in Metro Vancouver's Iranian community are scrambling to connect with family and friends back home.

At least 180 people are dead and thousands others injured after two powerful earthquakes struck northwestern Iran on Saturday.

Communication with much of the area has been cut off, making it impossible for officials to estimate the total damage.

Ebby Mohseni, who works with Vancouver Persian Radio, phoned relatives as soon as he found out.

"I called the people that I knew, the people that I know they are in the capital city of Tehran, and they're okay. They didn't feel anything in Tehran," he said.

Mohseni says Vancouver’s Iranian community is already starting to look for ways to help those affected.

"Probably there are some organizations that are going to start to ... get some charity, get some help for them, for the people."

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  • Ruins of a house is seen after an earthquake in the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit the towns of Ahar, Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran on Saturday, state TV said. Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one earthquake every day on average, although the vast majority are so small they go unnoticed. (AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Hamed Nazari)

  • Ruins of a houses are seen after an earthquake in the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Hamed Nazari)

  • A woman lies injured on a stretcher in a street after an earthquake in the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Hamed Nazari)

  • Residents of the city of Varzaqan sit at the side of a street after an earthquake in northwestern Iran, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/IRNA, Kazem Yousefi)

  • Medics tend a woman who was injured in an earthquake in the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/IRNA, Kazem Yousefi)

  • A man stretchers a woman who was injured in earthquake in the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/IRNA, Kazem Yousefi)

  • Medics treat an injured man after an earthquake in the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Ali Hamed Haghdoust)

  • A woman talks as she tends her injured loved one after an earthquake in the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Ali Hamed Haghdoust)