February 12, 1953 Earthquake: Torud, Iran
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Torud, Iran on February 12, 1953 at 08:15:34 UTC, 15 km below the surface. It killed 970 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- February 12, 1953
- Time
- 08:15:34 UTC
- Place
- Torud, Iran
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.385° N, 54.979° E
- Country
- Iran
The toll
- Deaths
- 970
- Injuries
- 140
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- 1,800
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
magnitude 6.4 and 970 deaths (Reference #1138)
At least 930 deaths, city of Torud destroyed, 1800 houses destroyed. (reference #12864)
973 killed, 140 injured in and around Torroud, which was destroyed. Mag. about 6.5 (reference #45)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 22, 856, Damghan, Qumis, Iran
- April 26, 662, Semnan,damghan, Qumis, Iran
- May 20, 1932, Torbet-I-Kheydarly, Iran
- April 11, 1935, Kevsut, Alborz, Sari, Iran
- July 11, 1890, Tash, Astrabad (Gorgan), Bastam, Shakhrud, Iran
- March 5, 1935, Alborz, Iran
- April 5, 1944, Gorgan, Iran
- August 27, 2010, Damghan-Torud, Iran
- February 14, 1971, Jailan,bokran,hosseinabad,sharifabad, Iran
- 1851, Shahrud, Iran
- January 15, 1898, Gorgan (Astrabad), Turkmenistan, Iran
- April 3, 1830, Chahardangeh,semnan,damghan, Iran
- November 9, 1977, Gorgan, Iran
- January 20, 1868, Alhak, Iran
- 1301, Firrim, Iran
More
Significant earthquakes of 1953The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1953Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4013.