Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt
Iran / Iraq · continental collision · 17404.2 km of mapped active fault in 86 traces
background as of 7 November 2026.
consistent with baseline
| Window | the last 30.0 days |
|---|---|
| Earthquakes counted | 1 at M4.5 or above |
| Expected in that window | 2.23 |
| Rate against normal | 0.45x |
| Largest | M5.0 |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 815 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 27.17 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 17404.2 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 86 |
| Tectonic setting | continental collision |
| Slip types | Reverse, Dextral, Dextral-Reverse |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | 26.72 to 36.64 latitude, 45.08 to 57.69 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 106 significant earthquakes and one tsunami attributed to this system since 743.
The deadliest was the 22 December 856 magnitude 7.9 earthquake (Iran: Damghan, Qumis), which killed 200,000 people.
The most recent entry is the 5 December 2024 magnitude 5.4 earthquake (Iran: Khuzestan).
Across the entries that record a death toll, 270,703 people died.
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 December 856 | magnitude 7.9 earthquake | Iran: Damghan, Qumis | 200,000 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 18 November 871 | magnitude 6.8 earthquake | Iran: Saimareh | 20,000 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 11 April 1008 | magnitude 6.5 earthquake | Iran-iraq: Dainawar | 16,000 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 1 September 1962 | magnitude 7.2 earthquake | Iran: Buyin-zara | 12,225 dead, 21,310 homes destroyed, $30 million damage |
| 23 January 1909 | magnitude 7.3 earthquake | Iran: Silakor | 5,500 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 10 April 1972 | magnitude 6.6 earthquake | Iran: Qir, Karzin, Jahrom, Firuzabad | 5,374 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 20 April 1608 | magnitude 7.6 earthquake | Iran: Gilan, W Mazandaran | 3,000 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 20 April 1608 | tsunami | Caspian Sea | 3,000 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 17 June 978 | magnitude 5.3 earthquake | Iran: Taheri (Siraf) | 2,000 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 12 May 1844 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Iran: Kashan, Qamsar, Kamu, Kushian, Chuka | 1,500 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 13 December 1957 | magnitude 6.5 earthquake | Iran: Farsinaj | 1,200 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 12 February 1953 | magnitude 6.6 earthquake | Iran: Torud | 970 dead, 1,800 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 12 November 2017 | magnitude 7.3 earthquake | Iran: Kermanshah; Iraq: Kurdistan | 630 dead, 15,500 homes destroyed, $750 million damage |
| 24 April 1960 | magnitude 5.9 earthquake | Iran: Lar | 420 dead, $20 million damage |
| 31 October 1956 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Iran: Bastak | 410 dead, $3 million damage |
| 6 April 1977 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | Iran: Naghan, Ardal, Jaghdan, Dastgerd, Kordan, Sarmur | 366 dead, 2,100 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 22 June 2002 | magnitude 6.5 earthquake | Iran: Ab Garm-abhar-avaj-shirin Su | 261 dead, $300 million damage |
| 16 August 1958 | magnitude 6.7 earthquake | Iran: Firuzabad | 132 dead, 2,500 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 27 May 1989 | magnitude 5.8 earthquake | Iran: Do Gobadan, Fars, Yasuj | 114 dead, $5 million damage |
| 2 December 1864 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Iraq: Zurbatiyah, Badrah, Tursaq, Baghdad | 100 dead, 100 homes destroyed, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 14 December 1978 | magnitude 6.1 earthquake | Iran: Masjed-e-soleyman | 76 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 31 March 2006 | magnitude 6.1 earthquake | Iran: Western: Borujerd, Dorud | 70 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 11 June 1961 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Iran: Dehkuyeh, Khaneh, Lar, Shagheb, Nokhriz, Bighu | 61 dead, 500 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 5 March 1935 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | Iran: Alborz | 60 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 9 April 2013 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Iran: Bushehr Province: Shanbe, Kaki, Sena | 37 dead, $297 million damage |
These are the 25 deadliest and largest of 107 entries. A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.
Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.
Who to listen to if you live here
IIEES, International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology is the agency that tells people on this system what to do. https://www.iiees.ac.ir/en/ (in English)
Where these numbers come from
Fault geometry, length and segment counts: GEM Global Active Faults Database (GEM GAF-DB), GEM Foundation, https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults Licence: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Figures derived from it here are offered under the same licence. Earthquake counts, magnitudes and depths: United States Geological Survey, public domain. The activity judgement is ours, computed from those two inputs, and is not a statement by either agency.