December 22, 1980 Earthquake: N Central, Tehran, Iran

Date

December 22, 1980

Time

12:51:21 UTC

Place

N Central, Tehran, Iran

Magnitude

5.2 (Ms)

Focal depth

41 km (25 mi)

Intensity

6 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

34.503° N, 50.590° E

Country

Iran

Deaths

3

Injuries

139

Damage

$1 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.

• July 15, 850, Rey (Ray), Iran45,000 deaths · 105 km
• June 7, 1755, Tabriz,kashan, N, Iran40,000 deaths · 101 km
• January 30, 1778, Kashan, Iran30,000 deaths · 120 km
• September 1, 1962, Buyin-Zara, IranM7.2 · 12,225 deaths · $30 million · 21,310 houses destroyed · 141 km
• May 4, 1639, Qazvin, Iran12,000 deaths · 196 km
• January 23, 1909, Silakor, IranM7.3 · 5,500 deaths · 28 km
• May 12, 1844, Kashan, Qamsar, Kamu, Kushian, Chuka, IranM6.4 · 1,500 deaths · 125 km
• 1574, Fin,kashan, Iran1,200 deaths · 93 km
• May 9, 1830, Damavand,tehran,semnan,damghan, Iran500 deaths · 191 km
• June 22, 2002, Ab Garm-Abhar-Avaj-Shirin Su, IranM6.5 · 261 deaths · $300 million · 188 km
• December 19, 1980, N Central, Tehran, IranM6 · 26 deaths · $5 million · 11 km
• May 11, 1945, Garmsar,kerand,bankuh, Iran20 deaths · 158 km
• June 27, 1961, Iran5 deaths · 156 km
• December 20, 2017, Alborz, IranM4.9 · 2 deaths · 132 km
• May 7, 2020, Tehran, Damavand, IranM4.6 · 2 deaths · 191 km

Significant earthquakes of 1980The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1980Recent 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 4908.