November 14, 1979 Earthquake: Khorasan, Iran

Date

November 14, 1979

Time

02:21:21 UTC

Place

Khorasan, Iran

Magnitude

6.6 (Mw)

Focal depth

33 km (21 mi)

Intensity

8 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

33.978° N, 59.832° E

Country

Iran

Deaths

171

Damage

Severe (about $5 to $25 million)

Houses destroyed

216

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.

• October 21, 1336, Khaf, IranM7.6 · 20,000 deaths · 81 km
• August 31, 1968, Dasht-E-Bayaz, IranM7.1 · 10,488 deaths · $35 million · 12,000 houses destroyed · 72 km
• January 30, 1549, Qayen (Qain),khorasan, Iran3,000 deaths · 86 km
• May 10, 1997, Birjand, Ghaen, Afghanistan, IranM7.2 · 1,728 deaths · $100 million · 10,533 houses destroyed · 17 km
• February 16, 1941, Mohammadabad, IranM6.3 · 730 deaths · 110 km
• September 1, 1968, Ferdow, IranM6.2 · 700 deaths · 1,500 houses destroyed · 150 km
• September 23, 1947, Dustabad, IranM6.9 · 500 deaths · 118 km
• December 14, 1925, Bajestan, IranM5.5 · 500 deaths · 173 km
• January 16, 1979, Bonzanabad, IranM6.5 · 129 deaths · 1,700 houses destroyed · 26 km
• November 27, 1979, IranM7.1 · 20 deaths · 1 km
• April 1, 1962, Mussavieh, IranM5.8 · 20 deaths · 117 km
• November 7, 1976, Khorasan Province, IranM6 · 17 deaths · 59 km
• June 30, 1936, Abiz, Sarbisheh, IranM6.1 · 12 deaths · 59 km
• April 10, 1998, Birjand, Gonabad, IranM5.8 · 12 deaths · 600 houses destroyed · 170 km
• December 5, 2012, Khorasan Province, IranM5.7 · 8 deaths · 58 km

Significant earthquakes of 1979The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1979Recent 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4854.