Ref. 26310-101THE effects of the devastating earthquake in Iran have been felt as far afield as Wootton Bassett, where Iranian artist Katy Kianush has made her home.

Her family fled the country before the revolution in 1979, which saw the Shah of Iran deposed, but she still has other family members and friends living in Tehran and is very aware of the risks they face.

"It is a great tragedy," said Katy, 39. "It is hard for me to put into words how I feel."

Although she has no family in Bam, the town at the centre of the earthquake, she has been contacted by other Iranian people and expats who have been distressed at the images they have seen on the television.

She added that her parents were very upset and depressed about the disaster.

But she said the international response has been heart-warming. "We were so sad when we heard what had happened back home and saw the scenes. Every-body feels the catastrophe," she said.

"But it is wonderful to see the world family has come together, but it is sad that it is usually when a tragedy like this happens."

She said much of Bam, is a World Heritage Site. This means it enjoys special preservation protection.

It had existed since the Persian empire at least 2,000 years and, apart from the tremendous loss of life, thousands of years of history have also been destroyed.

Bam had remained untouched for so long because earthquakes are rare in that region.

But in the north, where Katy's family and friends live, there have been more than 900 earthquakes in the last 20 years.

The last, in 1990, killed about 45,000 people.

"It is a worry," said Katy. "We go frantic trying to contact family to make sure everyone is safe."

There have been estimates that, because of overpopulation and substandard building regulations, as many as three million people could be killed if a similar-sized earthquake hit the capital of Iran.

Katy, who lives with her husband Jim Wallace, has suffered several setbacks of her own during the past year after suffering a misalignment of her neck, losing her voice for six months and then being involved in a car crash, but she recovered from these and held a successful exhibition at Swin-don's Wyvern Theatre in the autumn.