2002 Bou'in-Zahra earthquake: Difference between revisions
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| UTC time | ?? |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 6.5 Mw |
| Depth | 10 kilometres (6 mi)[1] |
| Epicenter | 35°37′34″N 49°02′49″E / 35.626°N 49.047°E[1] |
| Areas affected |  Iran |
| Casualties | At least 261 people killed and 1,300 injured[1] |
The 2002 Bou'in-Zahra earthquake occurred on June 22, 2002 in northwestern Iran which is crossed by several fault lines. The epicenter was located near the small village of Bou'in-Zahra in an area known for strong and destructive earthquakes. The magnitude 6.5 quake killed at least 261 people and injured 1,300 more. According to the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES), the earthquake was felt as far away as the capital city of Tehran, approximately 180 miles east of the epicenter.[2] Over 20 aftershocks were felt following the earthquake.[3] There was widespread public anger due to the slow official response for villagers to receive supplies. Residents in the village of Changureh resorted to throwing stones at the car of a government minister.
Background and tectonics
Iran is subject to many major earthquakes each year due to being crossed by several major fault lines,[4] and it experiences minor quakes almost daily.[5] 90% of Iran lies within an active seismic zone.[2] This quake was the 11th earthquake within the last two months in central Iran.[2] This earthquake was located in an area of active thrust faulting and folding parallel and south of the southern edge of the Alborz mountain range.[6]
Within Qazvin Province, where the earthquake occurred, earthquakes happen infrequently compared to the national average.[4] When they do occur, however, the Arabian plate, pushed northward by the African plate, collides with the Eurasian plate, giving these earthquakes additional force.[4] The earthquake, which had a shallow focus on the Earth's crust, had to adjust to the strain caused by this collision.[6] An inversion of long-period P and SH body-wave seismograms showed rupture on a thrust fault which dipped 49 degrees to the southwest and with a centroid depth of roughly 10 km.[6]
Multiple-event relocation of the mainshock and aftershock epicenters and discontinuous surface ruptures viewed after the earthquake are compatible with a northwest leaning rupture on a southwest-dipping thrust, though maximum recorded displacements are less than what would be expected from such quakes.[6] This suggests most of the slip did not reach the Earth's surface but, rather, folded at the surface.[6] R.T. Walker and several of his colleagues speculate that there is another, "hidden" plate which they dubbed the Abdareh plate.[6][2] This fold "is growing through a relict Neogene topography".[6] The Qazvin region was hit by an even stronger earthquake in 1963, killing 12,200.[7]
Damage and casualties
The earthquake occurred at 02:58 UTC (7:28 a.m. Iran Standard Time),[1][2] while most victims were still in their homes.[5] The duration was reported at seven seconds.[8] The epicenter was located near the town of Bou'in-Zahra[9] in the Khar river valley.[6] At least 261 people were killed, 1,300 injured, and 25,000 left homeless.[3] An earlier death toll was given as 500, though this number was revised when it was found some of the injured were mistaken for the dead.[4] Most of the dead were women, children and the elderly.[10] Over 20 aftershocks were recorded following the massive quake,[3] with magnitudes up to 5.1.[6] Three of these aftershocks caused more casualties and further damage, and they lasted three weeks from the main shock.[11]
Thousands of buildings were destroyed or damaged.[1] Within the Qazvin province, 120 buildings suffered complete destruction and 50 villages suffered 70 to 100 percent destruction. In the Hamadan province, 45 villages were destroyed.[2] Many of these were single-story buildings made of either mud, brick, or stone, most being old and very weak.[12] Structures built in accordance with the Iranian code of practice for seismic-resistant design survived much better.[12] The event also damaged the historical Kharaqan tomb towers, in a good state of preservation prior to the earthquake, which suggests that the quake was the most powerful in the region for approximately 900 years.[6]
At a station 28 km from the epicenter, the maximum horizontal and vertical accelerations were recorded to be roughly 0.5 g and 0.26 g, respectively.[12] A bridge failed as a result of the disaster.[2] Water and irrigation systems were severely damaged near the epicenter,[1] and water facilities were demolished in nine villages.[2] Many of the main water pipelines in the affected areas were damaged or destroyed, causing concern and difficulties for water availability and quality.[13] Surface fissures were observed between Abdarreh and Changureh, the villages that sustained the heaviest damage.[1]
Within Changureh, two buildings were left standing and over 120 casualties occured in the village.[9] Abdareh also fared poorly; the disaster destroyed the town's mosque, toppled 40 homes and killed at least 20 people.[9] The cost of the damage was estimated at US$91 million.[1] The quake was felt across a wide area, including the provinces of Gilan, Tehran, Kurdestan, Zanjan, and Hamedan.[3] The earthquake was felt in Tehran, roughly 180 miles east of the epicenter,[2] although no damage was reported.[9]
Relief efforts and aftermath
The Red Crescent Society sent relief workers, detection dogs, over 100 tons of food,[13] more than 1,000 tents, 2,500 blankets, and mobile kitchens to the earthquake-stricken area while the Iranian army supplied soldiers, machinery and water trucks.[3] To prevent the spread of disease, villages were sprayed with disinfectant, along with other measures such as tetanus shots.[3] The United Nations Development Programme sent US$50,000 in assistance.[14] Pope John Paul II prayed for the earthquake victims and asked for a "generous" response.[9]
United States President George W. Bush offered aid to Iran following the quake, which he had previously called an "axis of evil".[4] According to him, "human suffering knows no political boundaries" and he stood "ready to assist the people of Iran as needed and as desired."[4] However, the Iranian government refused his help but called for that of non-governmental agencies.[4]
According to Hossein Rahnema, head of the Red Crescent in Changureh, the society "levelled an area to put up tents but most people want to stay next to their houses to look after their property."[3] Then–Iranian President Mohammad Khatami declared three days of mourning, and the Associated Press said that 20 funerals were held on June 23, 2002 at a cemetery overlooking the village of Abdareh.[7] A bank account was opened to handle public donations.[10] Official rescue work was ended on June 24, 2002when rescue workers claimed there were no more survivors.[3]
Public anger
Of the roughly eighty villages that sustained heavy damage, the Iranian government claimed that relief work was mostly complete.[7] Residents of Changureh, however, complained that tents, food, and medicines did not reach them after waiting in near-freezing temperatures following the quake.[3] A man from Avaj stated that only locals helped uncover the body of his child.[15] Residents of Avaj threw stones at Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari's car in anger at the government's delay in providing relief.[4] They also claimed that the death toll was higher than official reports stated.[4]
Reconstruction
Electricity was restored to affected areas by June 25.[5] The World Bank granted US$22 million toward reconstruction and economic rehabilitation of the area on November 9, 2002.[16] Reconstruction of housing and infrastructure undertaken by provincial authorities was interrupted for almost four months (November 2002 – February 2003) due to extremely harsh weather conditions.[13] Finally, in August 2003 the reconstruction was completed in all villages hit by the earthquake.[13]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Magnitude 6.5 Western Iran". United States Geological Survey. 2003-11-13. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Preliminary Earthquake Reconnaissance Report on the June 22, 2002 Changureh (Avaj), Iran Earthquake". International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology. 2002-07-19. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "'No more survivors' in Iran quake". BBC News. 2002-06-24. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i "Help too late, say quake survivors". CNN. 2002-06-24. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c "245 Confirmed Dead In Iran Quake". CBS News. Associated Press. 2002-06-24.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j Walker, R.T. (2005). "The 2002 June 22 Changureh (Avaj) earthquake in Qazvin province, northwest Iran: epicentral relocation, source parameters, surface deformation and geomorphology". Geophysical Journal International. 160: 707–720. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2005.02516.x. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|month=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "Iranians angry at 'slow' quake help". BBC News. 2002-06-23. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Zare, Mehdi (2002). "A Seismological Overview on the Changureh (Avaj, Iran) Earthquake of 22 June 2002, Mw=6.3". Observatories and Research Facilities for European Seismology. 4 (2). Retrieved 2008-07-02.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e "Iran buries dead after earthquake". Associated Press. U.S.A. Today. 2002-06-23. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b "Rescue Teams Continue to Dig in Iran Earthquake Rubble". Voice of America News. 2002-06-24. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Fathi, Nazila (2002-06-23). "Quake in Northern Iran Kills at Least 500". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c Ramazi, Hamidreza (2006). "The 22 June 2002 Avaj, Iran, Earthquake: A Field Report". Seismological Research Letters. 77 (6): 723–730. doi:10.1785/gssrl.77.6.723. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d "Iran: Earthquake in the Qazvin/Hamadan and Zanjan regions Appeal No. 17/02 Final Report". International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies. 2004-02-19. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- ^ "UN team in quake regions says 2,000-4,000 injured". IranMania. 2002-06-24. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Hafesi, Parisa (2002-06-24). "Hundreds killed in Iran earthquake". Reuters. The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "World Bank grants 225 million dollars for Iran's quake-hit areas". Xinhua News Agency. 2002-11-09. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)