On 28 May 2004, at 16:08:44 IRST (12:38 UTC), an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw) struck northern Iran.[1] It resulted in the destruction of thousands of homes and caused damage, power outages and landslides in eight Iranian provinces, with the most severe damage occurring in Mazandaran and Qazvin provinces. At least 54 people were killed, including 28 by multiple landslides and 9 more after a helicopter assessing damage crashed on 29 May.
Northern Iran lies across part of the belt of active continental collision between the Arabian plate and the Eurasian plate.[2] Iran is the location of several major faults, with 90% of them being seismically active and subject to many earthquakes each year, with minor tremors occurring almost daily in the country.[3][4][5] The most seismically active parts of this area are the Zagros fold and thrust belt and the Alborz mountain range.[2]
At least 45 people were directly killed and 400 others were injured by the earthquake, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.[10] Eight provinces and 3,000 villages across northern Iran were affected.[11][12] At least 5,000 buildings were damaged,[8] of which 3,879 were destroyed.[13] Between 30-80% of homes in 133 villages collapsed.[14] Overall, structural damage from the earthquake was estimated at US$165 million.[8] In Mazandaran province, 31 people were killed,[15] 200 were injured[16] and 80 villages reported damage in Nowshahr, Chalus and Nur counties.[15][17] Landslides buried sections of the Chalus Road in the province, killing 28 people,[15] injuring 70 others[11] and damaging 2,000 vehicles.[8] Four people died[15] and 40 were injured in Qazvin province,[16] where 80 villages recorded significant destruction.[18] Seven villages were also majorly damaged in Taleqan County, Alborz province.[13] In Tehran, windows shattered and many people evacuated buildings.[11] Some roads were damaged and power outages occurred in the city.[19]
Response and Aftermath
The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) responded almost immediately by dispatching teams, rescue equipment and basic food and non food items. They sent 6,000 tents,[15] 20 rescue teams, 2,000 blankets, eight sniffer dogs, seven medical teams, 44 vehicles and 701 relief workers to the affected area.[14][12][17][11] Hundreds of people in Tehran slept outside in tents following the earthquake.[12]
An army helicopter assessing damage caused by the earthquake crashed on 29 May, killing all nine people on board,[13] including Masoud Emami, the governor of Qazvin province, the deputy governor, the province's police chief and two journalists. The helicopter was one of two dispatched to the region to assess damage and deliver relief. The cause of the crash is unclear.[12]
12Mahdavifar, Mohammad R.; Solaymani, Shahryar; Jafari, Mohammad K. (2006-02-20). "Landslides triggered by the Avaj, Iran earthquake of June 22, 2002". Engineering Geology. 86 (2–3): 166. Bibcode:2006EngGe..86..166M. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2006.02.016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
