November 7, 1976 Earthquake: Khorasan Province, Iran

Date

November 7, 1976

Time

04:00:53 UTC

Place

Khorasan Province, Iran

Magnitude

6 (Mw)

Magnitude scales

Mw 6 · Ms 6.2 · mb 5.6 · Unspecified 6.2

Focal depth

13 km (8 mi)

Intensity

VIII, severe shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

33.846° N, 59.208° 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. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. Unspecified: the method was not stated in the published sources. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.

Deaths

17

Injuries

32

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.

1. #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]
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. #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
4. #1232 International Seismological Centre (1964-1990). Regional Catalogue of Earthquakes, 1964-1990, Edinburgh, Scotland.

• October 21, 1336, Khaf, IranM7.6 · 20,000 deaths · 105 km
• September 16, 1978, Tabas, IranM7.4 · 20,000 deaths · $50 million · 15,000 houses destroyed · 175 km
• August 31, 1968, Dasht-E-Bayaz, IranM7.1 · 10,488 deaths · $35 million · 12,000 houses destroyed · 37 km
• January 30, 1549, Qayen (Qain),khorasan, Iran3,000 deaths · 40 km
• May 10, 1997, Birjand, Ghaen, Afghanistan, IranM7.2 · 1,728 deaths · $100 million · 10,533 houses destroyed · 56 km
• December 19, 1618, Dughabad,khorasan, Iran800 deaths · 170 km
• February 16, 1941, Mohammadabad, IranM6.3 · 730 deaths · 53 km
• September 1, 1968, Ferdow, IranM6.2 · 700 deaths · 1,500 houses destroyed · 95 km
• September 23, 1947, Dustabad, IranM6.9 · 500 deaths · 59 km
• December 14, 1925, Bajestan, IranM5.5 · 500 deaths · 132 km
• September 25, 1903, Kashmar, IranM5.9 · 350 deaths · 177 km
• November 14, 1979, Khorasan, IranM6.6 · 171 deaths · 216 houses destroyed · 59 km
• January 16, 1979, Bonzanabad, IranM6.5 · 129 deaths · 1,700 houses destroyed · 33 km
• November 27, 1979, IranM7.1 · 20 deaths · 61 km
• April 1, 1962, Mussavieh, IranM5.8 · 20 deaths · 67 km

Significant earthquakes of 1976The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1976Recent 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 4748. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp0000k7t, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.