Significant earthquakes of 1958

August 16, 1958 Earthquake: Firuzabad, Iran

August 16, 1958 · M6.7 · 132 deaths · 2,500 houses destroyed

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Firuzabad, Iran on August 16, 1958 at 19:13:48 UTC, 15 km below the surface. It killed 132 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
August 16, 1958
Time
19:13:48 UTC
Place
Firuzabad, Iran
Magnitude
6.7 (Mw)
Magnitude scales
Mw 6.7 · Ms 6.6 · Unspecified 6.7
Focal depth
15 km (9 mi)
Intensity
VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
34.290° N, 47.867° E
Country
Iran
Region
Middle East

Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. Ms: surface-wave magnitude. Unspecified: the method was not stated in the published sources. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.

The toll

Deaths
132
Injuries
948
Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed
2,500

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.

From Wikipedia

The 1958 Firuzabad earthquake affected Hamadan province, Iran, on 16 August at 22:43. The Mw 6.7 earthquake occurred at a depth of 15 km (9.3 mi), nine months after another severe earthquake struck the same area. It caused severe damage to over 170 villages in the province. Because of several strong foreshocks, most of the population had fled their homes: the death toll thus only reached 132, with 948 injured. A destructive aftershock on 21 September killed another 16 people.

The geological region where the earthquake occurred, the Zagros Mountains, is seismically active due to ongoing tectonic convergence. As a result, the mountains hosts active faults and a fold and thrust belt to accommodate the convergence. One of these active faults is the Main Recent Fault, a right-lateral strike-slip fault. The earthquake occurred along part of this fault and surface ruptures were reported on four segments.

Text from Wikipedia, “1958 Firuzabad earthquake”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted as written; the full article has the rest.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Reference #45 lists 200 deaths and severe damage.

Reference #1138 lists magnitude 6.7 and 132 deaths.

Reference #12864 lists magnitude 6.6 and at least 132 deaths, 948 injured, 2500 houses destroyed.

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

  1. #459 International Tsunami Information Center (1968 - present). Tsunami Newsletter. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA [published periodically, 1968-present].
  2. #1040 Rothe, J.P. (1969). The Seismicity of the Earth 1953-1965, United National Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France, 312 p. plus maps.
  3. #45 U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1928-1986). United States Earthquakes, Annual publication, published 1928-1986. vol.s for 1928-1965 issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; volumes for 1966-1969 issued by the National Earthquake Information Center; volume for 1970 issued by the National Geophysical Data Center; volumes for 1971-1972 issued by the National Geophysical And Solar-Terrestrial Data Center; volumes for 1973-1980 published jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey; volumes for 1981-1986 published by the U.S. Geological Survey. [on shelf]
  4. #12864 Berberian, Manuel (2005). The 2003 Bam urban earthquake: a predictable seismotectonic pattern along the western margin of the rigid Lut block, southeast Iran. Earthquake Spectra, 21(1_suppl), 35-99.
  5. #3937 Berberian, Manuel (1996). The Historical Record of Earthquakes in Persia. Encyclopaedia Iranica, VII (F.6), Drugs-Ebn al-Atir, Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, California, p. 635-640.
  6. #10476 International Seismological Centre (2013). Final Scientific Report of the ISC-GEM Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue, ISC-GEM Global Instrumental earthquake Catalogue (1900-2021). Versions 1-12 downloaded beginning 18 March 2013. DOI: 10.31905/D808B825
  7. #1138 Ambraseys, N.N. (1978). Middle East: A reappraisal of seismicity. Quarterly Journal Engineering Geology, vol. II, 1978, p. 19-32.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1958The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1958Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4172. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem884953, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.