2022 Hormozgan earthquakes

The 2022 Hormozgan earthquakes were doublet earthquakes that struck southern Iran on 1 July, 2022.[1][6] The earthquakes, which occurred around two hours apart, killed seven people and injured dozens more.

2022 Hormozgan earthquakes
2022 Hormozgan earthquakes is located in Iran
2022 Hormozgan earthquakes
UTC time2022-07-01 21:32:08
 2022-07-01 23:25:14
ISC event624504922
 624504901
USGS-ANSSComCat
 ComCat
Local dateJuly 2, 2022 (2022-07-02)
Local time02:02
 03:55
Magnitude6.0 Mw
 6.0 Mw
Depth16.0 km (9.9 mi)
9.0 km (5.6 mi)
Epicenter26°53′56″N 55°19′16″E / 26.899°N 55.321°E / 26.899; 55.321
FaultZagros fold and thrust belt
TypeDoublet
Reverse[1]
Max. intensityMMI VII (Very strong)
AftershocksAt least 12; strongest is 5.7 Mw[2][3]
Casualties7 dead, 111 injured[4][5]

Tectonic setting

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Hormozgan province lies at the southern margin of the collision zone between the Eurasian Plate and the Arabian Plate. This collision lead to the creation of the Zagros Mountains and the Iranian Plateau. The main fault system that runs through the Zagros Range is the Zagros fold and thrust belt, which has been responsible for causing many earthquakes in Iran over the years.[7]

Earthquake

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This earthquake is part of a sequence of earthquakes on 1 July, 2022, in southern Iran that began with a magnitude 6.0,[1] followed by a magnitude 5.7 aftershock two hours later,[2] and a magnitude 6.0 earthquake one minute after the magnitude 5.7 earthquake.[6] The first two events were initially reported as 6.1 magnitude, while the third was an initial 6.2. They were revised down several hours later.[citation needed] Earthquake sequences similar to this one have previously occurred in the Zagros Mountains, with a similar sequence occurring in November 2021.[1]

Aftershocks

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By 3 July, there were twelve aftershocks, the strongest of which was 5.7 Mw.[2][3] On July 23, two more aftershocks occurred, measuring 5.4 and 5.6 Mw .[8][9] The two quakes caused further damage to houses, and caused one indirect injury.[10]

Intensity

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Modified Mercalli intensities in selected locations[11]
MMI Locations
MMI VII (Very strong) Sayeh Khvosh
MMI VI (Strong) Bandar Khamir, Bandar Lengeh[6]
MMI V (Moderate) Bandar Abbas
MMI IV (Light) Sharjah, Ras al-Khaimah, Ajman, Minab

The earthquakes had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong). The strongest shaking was reported in the provinces of Hormozgan and Fars. The earthquake was felt throughout the Middle East in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, as well as parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which were severely affected by a more deadly earthquake 10 days earlier.[12]

Other events

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Two offshore earthquakes occurred in the same province near the town of Kish a month before the July events. The earthquakes measured 5.5 and 5.6 on the moment magnitude scale, and occurred at a depth of 10.0 km. The first earthquake injured four and damaged 20 buildings.[13][14][15] The latter caused one death and 37 injuries.[16][17]

Another earthquake, measuring magnitude 5.9 struck the same area on March 16 of that same year.[18] It caused two injuries and minor damage in several villages.

Impact

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Twelve towns and over 300 villages, with a combined population of around 900,000, were impacted by the earthquakes.[19] The village of Sayeh Khvosh, home to around 1,100 people, was completely destroyed. The governor of Hormozgan, Mahdi Dousti, said that it would take several months to rebuild the village.[20][21] In Bandar Khamir, at least 45 houses were affected, and 35 others were damaged in the town of Kong. In total, at least 392 houses were damaged or destroyed.[19] There were also reports of power outages.[19] A road between Bandar Khamir and Bandar Lengeh was blocked by a landslide.[22] Seven people were killed and 111 others were injured.[4][5] At least 22 of the injuries were serious enough to require hospitalisation.[20][23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "M 6.0 - 55 km NE of Bandar-e Lengeh, Iran". earthquake.usgs.gov.
  2. ^ a b c "M 5.7 - 54 km NE of Bandar-e Lengeh, Iran". earthquake.usgs.gov.
  3. ^ a b "Cutremur extrem de puternic, cinci persoane au murit. Seismul a avut peste 12 replici". Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). 3 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b "شمار فوتی‌های زلزله هرمزگان به ۷ نفر رسید" [The death toll of the Hormozgan earthquake reached 7 people]. Iranian Students News Agency (in Persian). 17 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b "افزایش شمار مصدومان زلزله غرب هرمزگان به ۱۱۱ نفر" [The number of injured in the West Hormozgan earthquake has increased to 111 people]. Fararu (in Persian). 3 July 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "M 6.0 - 57 km NE of Bandar-e Lengeh, Iran". earthquake.usgs.gov.
  7. ^ "Arabian Plate - an overview". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  8. ^ "M 5.4 - 51 km NE of Bandar-e Lengeh, Iran". earthquake.usgs.gov. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  9. ^ "M 5.6 - 69 km NE of Bandar-e Lengeh, Iran". earthquake.usgs.gov. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  10. ^ "مصدوم زلزله هرمزگان". ghatreh (in Persian). 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  11. ^ "PAGER" (PDF). USGS. 2022-07-02. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  12. ^ Butler, Gareth (2 July 2022). "Earthquake strikes southern Iran, light tremors felt in UAE". Gulf News. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  13. ^ "M 5.5 - 21 km NE of Kīsh, Iran". earthquake.usgs.gov.
  14. ^ "زلزله های پی در پی در غرب هرمزگان/ زلزله ۵.۲ ریشتری چارک را لرزاند + فیلم و تصاویر". yjc.news (in Persian).
  15. ^ "چهار نفر به خاطر ترس از زلزله در کیش مصدوم شدند". qudsonline.ir (in Persian). 15 June 2022.
  16. ^ "M 5.6 - 30 km NE of Kīsh, Iran". earthquake.usgs.gov. United States Geological Survey. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  17. ^ "یک فوتی و ۳۷ مصدوم در زمین لرزه صبح امروز" [One dead and 37 injured in this morning's earthquake]. Rah-e Dana. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  18. ^ "M 5.9 - 57 km NNW of Bandar e-Lengeh, Iran". earthquake.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  19. ^ a b c "گزارش اولیه جزئیات زلزله امروز صبح هرمزگان منتشر شد" [The preliminary report of the details of the earthquake was published this morning in Hormozgan]. Mehr News Agency (in Persian). 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Оvernight earthquake destroys Iranian village". en.vestikavkaza.ru.
  21. ^ "وقوع-سه-زلزله-بسیار-شدید-در-هرمزگان-تا" [The occurrence of three very strong earthquakes in Hormozgan / so far 5 dead and 44 injured + pictures]. Shafaqna (in Persian). 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Images of mountain collapse in Hormozgan during a 6.1 magnitude earthquake The road was closed". Hamshahri (in Persian). 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  23. ^ "زمین‌لرزه استان هرمزگان؛ اورژانس ایران: ۵ نفر کشته و ۸۹ نفر مصدوم شده‌اند". BBC News Persian (in Persian). 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-02.