2002 Bou'in-Zahra earthquake

Background and tectonics

The northeastern part of Iran lies across part of the belt of active continental collision between the Arabian plate and the Eurasian plate. Iran is crossed by several major faults, with 90% of them being seismically active and subject to many earthquakes each year; the area around the rupture experiences minor quakes almost daily. The most seismically active parts of this area are the Zagros fold and thrust belt and the Alborz mountain range. Qazvin province, which is located between these two zones, suffers fewer earthquakes, but these may be more powerful because stresses have longer to build.

The Bou'in-Zahra earthquake was located in an area of active thrust faulting and folding, parallel and south of the southern edge of the Alborz mountain range, The rupture's mechanism of faulting was reverse.

Multiple-event relocation of the main shock and aftershock epicenters and discontinuous surface ruptures recorded after the earthquake are compatible with northeastward movement on a southwest-dipping thrust, although maximum recorded displacements were less than would have been expected from the observed magnitude. This suggests that most of the slip did not actually reach the Earth's surface but caused folding at the surface. In 1990 a rupture killed over 40,000 people, injured 60,000, and left more than 500,000 homeless.

Damage and casualties

The earthquake occurred at 02:58 UTC (7:28 a.m. Iran Standard Time), and the epicenter was near the settlement of Bou'in-Zahra in the Khar river valley, The greatest damage was across an area best known for its seedless grape harvesting, a getaway for wealthy residents of Tehran. At least 261 people were killed, 1,500 injured, and 25,000 left homeless. An earlier death toll was reported as 500, but this number was believed to be inflated once it became known that some of the severely injured had been mistaken for dead. as many of the men were working in local vineyards. Over 20 aftershocks were recorded, most of which were within a 25 km radius of the main shock.

An estimated 5,000 buildings were damaged beyond repair. In the Qazvin province, 120 buildings were demolished and 50 villages suffered massive damage. In the neighboring Hamadan province, 45 villages were destroyed. As non-engineered structures, these could not withstand seismic forces, with structural failure and collapse resulting from wall-to-wall separation and the lack of structural integrity and of a proper lateral system of resisting. Newer structures built in accordance with the Iranian code of practice for seismic-resistant design fared much better. Damage to the historic Kharaqan tomb towers, which were in a good state of preservation before the event, suggests that the earthquake was possibly one of the most powerful in the region for approximately 900 years.

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. Surface cracks were observed in Ab Darreh and Changureh, the villages that suffered the heaviest damage, being roughly 25 km from the epicenter.

The relatively low levels of damage in the towns of Avaj or Ab-e-Garm in comparison to Changureh and Ab Darreh suggest a focus of damage to the northwest of the epicenter due to northwest propagation. In Changureh, only two buildings were left standing and over 120 casualties occurred. Ab Darreh also fared poorly; the disaster destroyed the town's only mosque, toppled 40 homes and killed at least 20 people. North of Avaj, in the village of Esmailabad, survivors recovered 38 corpses, a ninth of the total population, while searching for the missing, feared trapped in the ruins. In another village in the vicinity, Aliabad, two shepherds were the only known survivors. In the small village of Kisse-Jin, roughly 80 corpses were recovered following the rupture. Survivors crying and beating their heads and faces over loved ones were a common sight on Iranian state television.

The cost of the damage was estimated at RIs 302 billion. The quake was felt across a wide area, including the provinces of Qazvin, Gilan, Kurdistan, Zanjan, and Hamedan. Of all these, Qazvin was the most heavily damaged, with an unnamed Qazvin official reporting that 177 had died in the province. It was also felt in the capital of Tehran, roughly 290 km east of the epicenter, although no serious damage was reported. However, Iranian journalist Borzou Daragahi reported that in Tehran he saw buildings sway and glass objects shatter.

Landslides

The Bou'in-Zahra earthquake triggered 59 landslides over an area of about 3600 km2. Landslides formed due to the quake included 47 falls and topples, nine slides, and three lateral spreads. The largest of these slides was a rockslide, 150 × 100 m (490 × 330 ft), which occurred southeast of Changureh. Landslides triggered by the quake occurred more often in the geologic areas most susceptible to damage, where there were many landslides before.

Relief efforts and aftermath

The Red Crescent Society sent relief workers, detection dogs, 100 tons of food, 1,000 tents, 2,500 blankets, and mobile kitchens to the earthquake-stricken area. In addition, the Iranian army supplied soldiers, machinery and water trucks. To prevent the spread of disease, villages were sprayed with disinfectants and their inhabitants were given tetanus shots, among other measures. After Iranian officials launched an appeal for assistance, the United Nations Development Programme supplied $50,000. The United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) mobilised a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team, deploying five members. Pope John Paul II prayed for the earthquake victims and asked for a "generous" response.

United States President George W. Bush offered aid to Iran, which he had previously called part of an "axis of evil". According to him, "human suffering knows no political boundaries" and he stood "ready to assist the people of Iran as needed and as desired". However, the Iranian government refused his help, though it called for the help of non-governmental agencies.

According to Hossein Rahnema, head of the Red Crescent in Changureh, the society "levelled an area to put up tents but most people wanted to stay next to their houses to look after their property". Hospitals struggled to cope with the surplus of patients, discharging non-critical ones from their wards. The Associated Press stated that twenty funerals were held on 23 June 2002, at a cemetery overlooking the village of Abdareh. A bank account was started to handle public donations for the families of the dead.

Often armed with no more than shovels and spades, soldiers and civilians dug for bodies in the rubble. Other than this, rescue workers were faced with a number of obstacles, including the temperatures of the villages damaged. They were warm during the day, although the villages grew colder at night, making rescue work harder and threatening the health of the homeless and anyone alive and trapped under the debris. Many civilians were discouraged from helping due to fear of aftershocks. According to Gary Oshea of International Rescue, the volunteers did not have enough technical equipment, and the religious leaders seemed unwilling to contribute much. Official rescue work ended on 24 June 2002, when rescue workers said there were no more survivors.

Public reaction

Of the roughly 80 villages that suffered heavy damage, the Iranian government claimed that relief work was mostly complete. In protest at Iran's slow response to the tragedy, some 300 people blocked the main road through Avaj. On 23 June, "dozens" of Avaj residents threw stones at Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari's car in anger at the government's delay in providing relief. They also claimed that the death toll was higher than official reports said it was.

Reconstruction

Electricity was restored to affected areas by 25 June. Reconstruction of housing and infrastructure by provincial authorities was interrupted for almost four months (November 2002 – February 2003) due to harsh weather conditions. By August 2003, reconstruction was completed in all villages affected by the earthquake.

Notes

References

References

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