A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck sparsely populated northern Iran, killing four people and displacing around 800 due to poor local construction quality.
Key Facts
- Moment Magnitude
- 5.8 Mw
- Deaths
- 4 people
- Injured
- 40 people
- Displaced
- ~800 people
- Max Mercalli Intensity
- VII (Very strong)
- Local Time of Occurrence
- 11:53:49
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquake resulted from strike-slip faulting in a seismically active zone near the Alborz mountain range in Semnan Province, a region with a long history of destructive seismic events dating back to 856 AD. The area's geological setting makes it prone to moderate-to-large earthquakes.
On August 27, 2010, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Damghan County in northern Iran at 11:53:49 local time, reaching a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The event damaged and destroyed several small villages in a sparsely populated area, with data collected by the Iranian Strong Motion Network used to analyze the slip type and peak ground acceleration.
The earthquake killed four people, injured 40, and left approximately 800 homeless. Casualties were attributed to low-quality construction typical of the region rather than the earthquake's moderate magnitude. Seismologists used strong motion data to determine the nature and extent of the fault slip involved.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 4 (earthquake)