December 13, 1957 Earthquake: Farsinaj, Iran
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Farsinaj, Iran on December 13, 1957 at 01:45:04 UTC, 15 km below the surface. It killed 1,200 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
- December 13, 1957
- Time
- 01:45:04 UTC
- Place
- Farsinaj, Iran
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.388° N, 47.748° E
- Country
- Iran
The toll
- Deaths
- 1,200
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
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.
Reference #1138 lists magnitude 7.1 and 1200 deaths.
Reference #45 lists magnitude 7.2, 2000 deaths, and severe damage.
Reference #1250 lists 3000 deaths.
Reference #12864 lists 1200 deaths, 900 injured, 211 villages destroyed.
Reference #3937 lists magnitude 6.7 and 1200 deaths.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 18, 871, Saimareh, Iran
- November 12, 2017, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Iraq, Iran
- June 22, 2002, Ab Garm-Abhar-Avaj-Shirin Su, Iran
- August 16, 1958, Firuzabad, Iran
- December 2, 1864, Zurbatiyah, Badrah, Tursaq, Baghdad, Iraq
- March 31, 2006, Borujerd, Dorud, Western, Iran
- June 27, 1961, Iran
- April 24, 2002, Kermanshah, Western, Iran
- May 29, 1987, W, Nahavand-Hamaden-Tuysarkan, Iran
- October 14, 1961, Iran
- August 25, 2018, Kermanshah, Iran
- November 25, 2018, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Iraq, Iran
- March 24, 1963, Karkhaneh, Iran
- April 912, Dinavar, Iran
- June 1872, Hamadan, Iran
More
Significant earthquakes of 1957The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1957Recent 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 4150.