April 1, 1962 Earthquake: Mussavieh, Iran

Date

April 1, 1962

Time

00:45:13 UTC

Place

Mussavieh, Iran

Magnitude

5.8 (Mw)

Magnitude scales

Mw 5.8 · Ms 5.5

Focal depth

15 km (9 mi)

Intensity

VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

33.320° N, 58.845° E

Country

Iran

Region

Middle East

USGS record

The USGS’s page for this earthquake

Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. Ms: surface-wave magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.

Deaths

20

Damage

Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.

1. #1192 Berberian, Manuel (1977). Geological Survey of Iran, Tectonic and Seismotectonic Research Section, Report no. 40, Contribution to the Seismotectonics of Iran (Part III), Ministry of Industry and Mines, Tehran, Iran.
2. #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.
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. #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

• September 16, 1978, Tabas, IranM7.4 · 20,000 deaths · $50 million · 15,000 houses destroyed · 128 km
• October 21, 1336, Khaf, IranM7.6 · 20,000 deaths · 173 km
• August 31, 1968, Dasht-E-Bayaz, IranM7.1 · 10,488 deaths · $35 million · 12,000 houses destroyed · 96 km
• January 30, 1549, Qayen (Qain),khorasan, Iran3,000 deaths · 31 km
• May 10, 1997, Birjand, Ghaen, Afghanistan, IranM7.2 · 1,728 deaths · $100 million · 10,533 houses destroyed · 105 km
• February 16, 1941, Mohammadabad, IranM6.3 · 730 deaths · 24 km
• September 1, 1968, Ferdow, IranM6.2 · 700 deaths · 1,500 houses destroyed · 96 km
• September 23, 1947, Dustabad, IranM6.9 · 500 deaths · 37 km
• December 14, 1925, Bajestan, IranM5.5 · 500 deaths · 158 km
• November 14, 1979, Khorasan, IranM6.6 · 171 deaths · 216 houses destroyed · 117 km
• January 16, 1979, Bonzanabad, IranM6.5 · 129 deaths · 1,700 houses destroyed · 94 km
• November 27, 1979, IranM7.1 · 20 deaths · 118 km
• November 7, 1976, Khorasan Province, IranM6 · 17 deaths · 67 km
• April 10, 1998, Birjand, Gonabad, IranM5.8 · 12 deaths · 600 houses destroyed · 143 km
• June 30, 1936, Abiz, Sarbisheh, IranM6.1 · 12 deaths · 152 km

Significant earthquakes of 1962The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1962Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 4260. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem874458, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.