1978_Tabas_earthquake

1978 Tabas earthquake

1978 Tabas earthquake

7.4 Mw earthquake in east-central Iran

The 1978 Tabas earthquake (Persian: زمین‌لرزه ۱۳۵۷ طبس) occurred on September 16 at 19:05:55 local time in central Iran. The shock measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX+ (Violent). The death toll was in the range of 15,000–25,000, with severe damage occurring in the town of Tabas.

Quick Facts UTC time, ISC event ...

Eighty percent of the human deaths occurred in Tabas, but a total of 85 villages were also affected. This seismic force was felt in Tehran, about 610 kilometers (380 mi) away. About 55–85 km (34–53 mi) of ground deformation was observed, with about 1.7 meters (5 ft 7 in) of maximum slip. Only one significant M5 aftershock occurred.[4]

Damage

The earthquake destroyed or severely damaged around 90 villages. The town of Tabas was completely destroyed. Nearly 85% of the population was killed.[6]

60 villages were badly damaged, including Ferdows, where 80 percent of the city was destroyed. Reportedly, two-thirds of Iran, including the capital city of Tehran, felt the earthquake.[7]

Manuel Berberian reported over 20,000 people were killed and 15,000 housing units destroyed.[6]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    ISC (19 January 2015), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 2.0, International Seismological Centre
  2. [2]
    USGS (September 4, 2009), PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey
  3. [3]
    Berberian, M. (2014), Earthquakes and Coseismic Surface Faulting on the Iranian Plateau, Developments in Earth Surface Processes (1st ed.), Elsevier, p. 609, ISBN 978-0-444-63297-5
  4. [4]
    Ambraseys, N. N.; Melville, C. P.; Adams, R. D. (2005), The Seismicity of Egypt, Arabia and the Red Sea: A Historical Review, Cambridge University Press, pp. 103, 104, 110, ISBN 978-0-521-02025-1
  5. [5]
    USGS. "M5.0 - eastern Iran". United States Geological Survey.
  6. [6]
    Berberian, Manuel (1982). "Afterstock tectonics of the 1978 Tabas-e-Golshan (Iran) earthquake sequence: a documented active 'thin and thick-skinned tectonic' case". Geophys. J. R. astr Soc. 68: 499–530.
  7. [7]
    "Massive Earthquake Devastates Iran, Killing 15,000 and Destroying Towns | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com.


Stub icon

This article about an earthquake in Asia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Flag of IranHourglass icon  

This Iranian history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1978_Tabas_earthquake, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.