1978 Tabas earthquake
 View of Tabas following the quake | |
   Tehran | |
| UTC time | 1978-09-16 15:35:55 |
|---|---|
| ISC event | 676813 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | September 16, 1978 |
| Local time | 19:05:55 IRST |
| Magnitude | 7.4 Mw[1] |
| Depth | 10 km (6.2 mi)[1] |
| Epicenter | 33°13′N 57°29′E / 33.21°N 57.48°E[1] |
| Type | Thrust[2] |
| Areas affected | Iran |
| Total damage | $11 million[3] |
| Max. intensity | MMI IX (Violent)[4] |
| Peak acceleration | 0.8 g[5] |
| Aftershocks | 5.0 Mw Sept 17 at 08:17[6] |
| Casualties | 15,000–25,000[3] |
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. The day before, a 5.5 magnitude quake had struck southwestern Iran in the morning and killed at least 42 people in and around the towns of Masjid-e Solaiman and Izeh.[7]
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.[5]
Tectonic setting
[edit]Iran is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major faults that cover at least 90% of the country.[8] Eastern Iran can experience large and deadly earthquakes from both strike-slip and reverse faults in the area.[9] The area that the 1978 earthquake occurred in had been seismically quiet for the last 11 centuries.[2] The 1978 earthquake occurred on a blind thrust fault with a significant component of right-lateral slip.[10]
Damage
[edit]The earthquake destroyed or severely damaged around 90 villages. The town of Tabas was completely destroyed. Nearly 85% of the population was killed.[11]
Sixty 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.[12]
Manuel Berberian reported over 20,000 people were killed and 15,000 housing units destroyed.[11] The earthquake was the third-deadliest natural disaster in Iran in the last hundred years.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c ISC (19 January 2015), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 2.0, International Seismological Centre
- ^ a b Berberian, M. (1979-12-01). "Earthquake faulting and bedding thrust associated with the Tabas-e-Golshan (Iran) earthquake of September 16, 1978". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 69 (6): 1861–1887. doi:10.1785/BSSA0690061861. ISSN 0037-1106.
- ^ a b PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey, September 4, 2009
- ^ 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
- ^ a b 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
- ^ "M5.0 – eastern Iran". United States Geological Survey.
- ^ "Quake Kills 42 in Iran". Los Angeles Times. UPI. December 17, 1978. p. I-4.
- ^ "Preliminary Earthquake Reconnaissance Report on the June 22, 2002 Changureh (Avaj), Iran Earthquake". International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology. 2002-07-19. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ "M 7.4 - 52 km ESE of Tabas, Iran". USGS. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ Walker, R. T.; Khatib, M. M.; Bahroudi, A.; Rodés, A.; Schnabel, C.; Fattahi, M.; Talebian, M.; Bergman, E. (2015-05-15). "Co-seismic, geomorphic, and geologic fold growth associated with the 1978 Tabas-e-Golshan earthquake fault in eastern Iran". Geomorphology. Geomorphology of Active Faulting and seismic hazard assessment: New tools and future challenges. 237: 98–118. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.02.016. ISSN 0169-555X.
- ^ a b 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. Astron. Soc. 68 (2): 499–530. Bibcode:1982GeoJ...68..499B. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.1982.tb04912.x.
- ^ "Massive Earthquake Devastates Iran, Killing 15,000 and Destroying Towns | News | The Harvard Crimson". thecrimson.com.
- ^ Zandian, Elham; Rimaz, Shahnaz; Naieni, Kourosh; Nedjat, Saharnaz. "Economic Effects of 1978 Tabas Earthquake (Iran)". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
External links
[edit]- M7.4 – eastern Iran – United States Geological Survey
- The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.
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