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1978 Tabas earthquake

Coordinates: 33°13′N 57°29′E / 33.21°N 57.48°E / 33.21; 57.48
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1978 Tabas earthquake
View of Tabas following the quake
1978 Tabas earthquake is located in Iran
1978 Tabas earthquake
Tehran
Tehran
UTC time1978-09-16 15:35:55
ISC event676813
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateSeptember 16, 1978 (1978-09-16)
Local time19:05:55 IRST
Magnitude7.4 Mw[1]
Depth10 km (6.2 mi)[1]
Epicenter33°13′N 57°29′E / 33.21°N 57.48°E / 33.21; 57.48[1]
TypeThrust[2]
Areas affectedIran
Total damage$11 million[3]
Max. intensityMMI IX (Violent)[4]
Peak acceleration0.8 g[5]
Aftershocks~6,000 shocks recorded[6]
1,560 located[7]
5.0 mb  Sept 17, 1978
5.3 mb  Dec 6, 1978
5.1 mb  Jan 17, 1979
5.2 mb  Sept 5, 1979
5.9 mb  Jan 12, 1980[8]
Casualties15,000–25,000[3]
Topographic map of the epicentral area showing location of epicenter, mapped surface ruptures and observed post-seismic slip

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.

Earthquake and aftershocks

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The main earthquake occurred at 15:35 UTC on September 16, 1978.[1] It was reported by survivors in Tabas that there was a loud roaring noise prior to the shaking. An area of about 800 km2 (310 sq mi) experienced shaking of MMI IX or greater, while about 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) experienced MMI VIII.[9] Thousands of aftershocks were recorded,[7] with over 40 of them a mb 4.0 or greater, with five being mb 5.0 or greater. The largest aftershock, measuring mb 5.9, hit over an year after the mainshock.[10]

Tectonic setting

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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.[11] The Iranian plateau is confined by the Turan platform in the north and the Zagros fold and thrust belt and Makran Trench in the south. The Arabian plate is converging to the north with the Eurasian plate at a rate of 35 millimeters (1.4 in) per year, and is diffused across a 1,000 km (620 mi) zone resulting in continental shortening and thickening throughout the plateau, with strike-slip and reverse faulting present, as well as subduction at the Makran coast.[12]

In eastern Iran, the shortening is accommodated by a combination of relatively short northwest–southeast trending reverse faults, long north–south trending right lateral strike-slip faults and shorter west–east trending left-lateral strike-slip faults.[13] Eastern Iran can experience large and deadly earthquakes from both strike-slip and reverse faults in the area.[14] The region that the 1978 earthquake occurred in had been seismically quiet for the last 11 centuries.[2] The earthquake occurred on a blind thrust fault with a significant component of right-lateral slip.[15] Multiple smaller earthquakes in the 20th century seemed to indicate a NNW-SSE trend along the Tabas fault, which may be a precursor to the 1978 rupture.[16]

Damage

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The earthquake destroyed or severely damaged around 90 villages. The town of Tabas was completely destroyed. Nearly 85% of the population was killed.[7]

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.[17]

Manuel Berberian reported over 20,000 people were killed and 15,000 housing units destroyed.[7] The earthquake was the third-deadliest natural disaster in Iran in the last hundred years.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d ISC (19 January 2015), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 2.0, International Seismological Centre
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey, September 4, 2009
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Berberian, Manuel; Asudeh, I.; Bilham, Roger; Scholz, C.H. (December 1979). "Mechanism of the main shock and the aftershock study of the Tabas-e-Golshan (Iran) earthquake of September 16, 1978: A preliminary report".
  7. ^ a b c d 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.
  8. ^ "M5.0 – eastern Iran". United States Geological Survey.
  9. ^ Berberian, Manuel (1978). "Tabas-E-Golshan (iran) Catastrophic Earthquake of 16 September 1978; a Preliminary Field Report". Disasters. 2 (4): 207–219. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7717.1978.tb00099.x. ISSN 1467-7717.
  10. ^ "Latest Earthquakes". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ Berberian, M.; Yeats, R. (1999), "Patterns of historical earthquake rupture in the Iranian Plateau", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 89 (1): 120, Bibcode:1999BuSSA..89..120B, doi:10.1785/BSSA0890010120, archived from the original on January 10, 2012
  13. ^ Walker, R.; Jackson, J.; Baker, C. (2004). "Active faulting and seismicity of the Dasht-e-Bayaz region, eastern Iran". Geophysical Journal International. 157 (1): 265–282. Bibcode:2004GeoJI.157..265W. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.02179.x.
  14. ^ "M 7.4 - 52 km ESE of Tabas, Iran". USGS. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "Massive Earthquake Devastates Iran, Killing 15,000 and Destroying Towns | News | The Harvard Crimson". thecrimson.com.
  18. ^ Zandian, Elham; Rimaz, Shahnaz; Naieni, Kourosh; Nedjat, Saharnaz. "Economic Effects of 1978 Tabas Earthquake (Iran)". Retrieved March 3, 2025.
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