1997 Qayen earthquake

1997 Qayen earthquake

UTC time	??
Magnitude	7.3 Mw
Depth	10 kilometers (6 mi)
Epicenter	33°49′N 59°48′E
Areas affected	Iran Afghanistan
Casualties	at least 1,567 dead, 2,300 injured, and around 50,000 homeless

On May 10, 1997, Northern Iran's Khorasan Province was struck by a major earthquake (known as the Qayen, Ardekul or Qaen earthquake). The largest in the area since 1990, it measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale and was centered approximately 270 kilometers (170 mi) south of Mashhad on the village of Ardekul. The third earthquake that year to cause severe damage, it devastated the Birjand–Qayen region, killing 1,567 and injuring over 2,300. The earthquake—which left 50,000 homeless and damaged or destroyed over 15,000 homes—was dubbed the deadliest of 1997 by the United States Geological Survey. Some 155 aftershocks caused further destruction and drove away survivors. The earthquake was later discovered to have been caused by a rupture along a faultline that runs underneath the Iran–Afghanistan border.

Damage was eventually estimated at $100 million, and many countries responded to the emergency with donations of blankets, tents, clothing, and food. Rescue teams were also despatched to assist local volunteers in finding survivors trapped under the debris. The destruction around the earthquake's epicenter was, in places, almost total; this has been attributed to poor construction practices, and imparted momentum to a growing movement for changes in building codes. With 1 in 3,000 deaths in Iran attributable to earthquakes, one expert has suggested that a country-wide rebuilding program will be needed to address the ongoing public safety concerns.

Background and geology

Iran experiences regular earthquakes, with 200 reported in 1996 alone. Like dozens that have preceded it, the 1997 Qayen event was of significant magnitude. It occurred in the historical Sistan region, one of the most seismically active areas of the country. The first major earthquake in that region since 1979, magnitudes of 7.3 M_w, 7.2 M_s, and 7.7 M_e were recorded, and a Mercalli scale intensity of X, or disastrous, was assigned to the worst-hit area.

Saffron was a spice farmed by some of the earthquake victims.

The earthquake's epicenter was the village of Ardekul in South Khorasan Province, close to the sparsely populated mountainous border with Afghanistan. The inhabitants of this poverty-stricken subsistence farming region rely on livestock and crops such as wheat and saffron; many of those later treated for injuries were also found to be undernourished.

Subsequent investigation revealed that the earthquake was caused by a rupture along the Abiz Fault, part of the Sistan suture zone of eastern Iran. Located northeast of the main collision zone between the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates, the Sistan zone marks the eastern boundary of the Iranian microplate where it intersects with the Afghan crustal block. Because most of Iran sits on just one microplate, seismic activity is concentrated mainly along its borders. Both the 1968 Dasht-e-Bayez earthquake (magnitude 7.3 resulting in 12,000–20,000 deaths) and the Qayen earthquake were the result of left–lateral strike-slip displacement along faults. The maximum horizontal acceleration during the quake was approximately 6.9 meters per second—nearly three-quarters of the acceleration an object would have in free fall—and occurred near the earthquake's epicenter. The crustal layer involved in the rupture was 20–25 kilometers (12–16 mi) thick.

Soon after the earthquake, a team of Japanese geologists collected information on the 110-kilometer (68 mi) long visible surface fault. The group also studied the government's management of natural disasters by analyzing structural damage in 57 individual villages.

Damage and casualties

Southwest view of Qayen in 2006

The earthquake was felt over an area of 500,000 square kilometers (193,051 sq mi), including in the cities of Mashad, Kerman and Yazd. However, destruction was most severe within a 60-mile (97 km) strip between the epicenter and Birjand. The tremors triggered landslides across the region and proved highly destructive to the region's mud-hut buildings. Entire streets were reduced to rubble; in one village, 110 young girls were killed when their elementary school collapsed. Because many villages had lost both power and water, the survivors were left unable to fend for themselves. Mass burials took place as bodies were retrieved, and one doctor, highlighting the desperate need for physicians to treat the injured, said that he had put on "hundreds" of casts.

An initial report in The New York Times claimed that more than 2,000 people had died in the worst-affected area, with a further 394 in Birjand and two in the small town of Khavaf. The earthquake was also said to have caused five fatalities as far away as Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. As rescue efforts proceeded these figures were revised; the United States Geological Survey states that 1,572 people were killed and as many as 2,300 injured. In addition 10,533 houses were destroyed, with 5,474 more damaged, leading to some 50,000 people being made homeless.

Up to 155 aftershocks, some of which reached a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale, followed the initial shock, prompting survivors to leave the vicinity of their homes and take to tents. Many of the aftershocks occurred along the rupture up to 24 kilometres (15 mi) under the surface. Several days later, another earthquake of magnitude 4.8 struck. In the wake of the earthquake and its aftershocks, every one of the 700 houses in the tiny village of Abiz, 90 kilometers (56 mi) east of Qayen, was destroyed, and 400 of its 1200 residents killed.

Relief efforts

Organization/Country	Amount donated
United Nations-related agencies	$525,000
Japan	$300,000
OPEC countries	$300,000
Germany	$235,000
United Kingdom	$200,000
Norway	$90,000
Denmark	$35,000
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Organizations	$33,800
United States	$25,000

Several thousand volunteers were brought in to join the search for survivors buried under mounds of brick and cement debris. Many volunteers worked with nothing but their hands. Local organizations, including the Iranian Red Crescent, sent 9,000 tents, over 18,000 blankets, canned food, rice, and dates. An additional 80 tons of supplies were sent by the Iranian government to Mashad, from where the relief efforts were being coordinated.

The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, pleaded that the international community "respond promptly and with generosity". France dispatched a cargo plane filled with blankets, tents, clothing, and food, and a rescue team with dogs was sent from Switzerland. Several aircraft carrying tents, blankets, and kerosene stoves from European and Arabic countries arrived in Mashad on May 14. Representatives from the United States, calling the disaster a "humanitarian issue", said that despite their strong differences with Iran they would donate supplies and other aid if required. A spokeswoman for US President Bill Clinton suggested that aid could be sent through an organization such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC). The Mennonite Central Committee, an American relief agency stationed in Akron, Pennsylvania, redirected to the relief effort 400 metric tons of lentils and cooking oils intended for immigrant refugees. A specialist British disaster rescue organisation, the International Rescue Corps, offered to send a team but were refused visas, and a Swiss offer of additional assistance was also turned down. Several countries within the Persian Gulf political region sent condolences to the families of victims and the government in the area. Action by Churches Together International (ACT) also offered to donate supplies.

Because the affected area is extremely remote, distributing the relief supplies was difficult. Furthermore, the injured were often many miles away from the nearest hospital. Officials also worried that a temperature fluctuation (from 41 to 84 °F (5 to 29 °C)) would cause the bodies of the dead to rot more quickly, leading to bacterial infections among the population.

Local officials initially estimated the cost of the damage at 1997 $67 million. The estimate was later raised to 1997 $100 million. One hundred schools and many health centers in the stricken areas were discovered to be in need of repair work.

On May 14 the Iranian government announced that, although aid operations would continue, rescue work was officially coming to an end. No more survivors were expected to be found in the rubble.

Future threats

Iran was listed first in a 2004 report on countries with poor earthquake engineering. Citing the statistic that since the start of the twentieth century, 1 in 3,000 Iranians has died in an earthquake-related incident, geophysicist Professor Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado at Boulder blames construction practices. A specialist in earthquake-related deformation and hazards, he argues that "Most of Iran needs rebuilding. If the population of Iran had a choice between spending oil revenues on munitions or houses that won't kill them, I suspect they would choose a safe home. It's all a matter of earthquake education." The United Nations have prepared a Common Country Assessment for Iran, which likewise states that,"While adequate building regulations exist for large cities, it is generally believed that they are not rigorously adhered to... most of those who have suffered in recent major earthquakes have lived in small towns and villages. Earthquake-proof construction is very rare in those areas and adequate building regulations are not yet in place"

The earthquakes of Iran are a large concern to the populace and are an impediment to economic development. Twelve earthquakes with a Richter magnitude of over seven have occurred within the last century. Three quarters of the major cities of Iran are in areas prone to major earthquakes. The 1990 Manjil-Rudbar earthquake, with at least 42,000 fatalities, cost Iran roughly 7.2 percent of its Gross National Product (GNP) for that year and wiped out two years of economic growth.

In 2007, the Asian Centre on Seismic Risk Reduction was formed in response to the regular earthquakes experienced by the southern, southwestern, and central Asian areas. This organization exists to "encourage regional and inter-regional networking and partnerships to reduce seismic damage". Earthquakes account for 73 percent of natural disaster deaths in the area.