July 23, 1981 Earthquake: Urumiyeh, Iran
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Urumiyeh, Iran on July 23, 1981 at 00:05:30 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 10 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
- July 23, 1981
- Time
- 00:05:30 UTC
- Place
- Urumiyeh, Iran
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.141° N, 45.230° E
- Country
- Iran
The toll
- Deaths
- 10
- 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
10 people killed (reference #12864)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 18, 1727, Tabriz, Iran
- January 8, 1780, Tabriz, Iran
- November 4, 1042, Tabriz, Iran
- August 21, 1042, Tabriz, Iran
- April 26, 1721, Tabriz, Iran
- February 5, 1641, Tabriz, Kurdistan, Iran
- December 27, 1779, Tabriz, Iran
- May 6, 1930, Salmas, Iran
- 1664, Tabriz, Iran
- April 18, 1843, Khvoy (Khoy), Iran
- January 5, 1896, Khvoy (Khoy), Iran
- August 11, 2012, Ahar, Haris, Varzagan, Iran
- July 29, 1272, Tabriz, Iran
- July 24, 1991, Arbil, Dibs, Iraq
- February 10, 1965, Northwestern Iran
More
Significant earthquakes of 1981The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1981Recent 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 10574.