June 20, 1994 Earthquake: Firuzabad, Shiraz, Iran
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Firuzabad, Shiraz, Iran on June 20, 1994 at 09:09:02 UTC, 9 km below the surface. It killed 3 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
- June 20, 1994
- Time
- 09:09:02 UTC
- Place
- Firuzabad, Shiraz, Iran
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Mw)
- Magnitude scales
- Mw 5.9 · Ms 5.7 · mb 5.9
- Focal depth
- 9 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 28.968° N, 52.614° 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. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
- Injuries
- 100
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
- Houses damaged
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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 happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
At least three people killed and 100 injured in the Firuzabad-Shiraz area. Twelve villages destroyed and 50 others severely damaged in the Firuzabad-Shiraz area. Landslides blocked a road in the Zagros Mountains. Felt at Jahrom. Depth from broadband displacement seismograms. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=93 Dip=82 Slip=30 NP2:Strike=358 Dip=60 Slip=171 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=27 Azm=320 (P) Plg=15 Azm=222 Comment: The focal mechanism is poorly controlled and corresponds to strike-slip faulting with a moderate reverse component. The preferred fault plane is not determined. RADIATED ENERGY No. of sta: 12 Focal mech. F Energy 9.7+2.4*10**12 Nm MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION Dep 7 No. of sta: 16 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=-0.07 Mtt=-0.84 Mff=0.91 Mrt=2.89 Mrf=0.18 Mtf=5.02 Principal axes: (T) Val=5.86 Plg=20 Azm=314 (N) Val=0.01 Plg=60 Azm=83 (P) Val=-5.86 Plg=21 Azm=216 Best Double Couple:Mo=5.9*10**17 NP1:Strike=355 Dip=60 Slip=-179 NP2:Strike=265 Dip=89 Slip=-30 CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 52S,110C Centroid Location: Origin Time 09:09: 6.7 0.2 Lat 29.06N 0.02 Lon 52.44E 0.02 Dep 15.0 BDY Half-duration 2.1 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=-0.72 0.11 Mtt=-3.95 0.14 Mff=4.66 0.12 Mrt=1.36 0.42 Mrf=-2.77 0.36 Mtf=6.03 0.12 Principal Axes: (T) Val=8.17 Plg=12 Azm=115 (N) Val=-0.24 Plg=67 Azm=355 (P) Val=-7.93 Plg=19 Azm=210 Best Double Couple:Mo=8.1*10**17 NP1:Strike=251 Dip=67 Slip=-5 NP2:Strike=343 Dip=85 Slip=-157
From the USGS event page for usp0006ekv. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.9 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.88 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.9 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 5.72 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
At least three people killed and 100 injured
in the Firuzabad-Shiraz area. Twelve villages destroyed
and 50 others severely damaged in the Firuzabad-Shiraz
area. Landslides blocked a road in the Zagros
Mountains. Felt at Jahrom. (reference #1053)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 11, 1008, Dainawar, Iran-Iraq
- April 22, 1853, Shiraz, Iran
- April 10, 1972, Qir,karzin, Jahrom, Firuzabad, Iran
- June 17, 978, Taheri (Siraf), Iran
- April 9, 2013, Shanbe, Kaki, Sena, Bushehr Province, Iran
- January 19, 1950, Bushire, Iran
- May 6, 1999, Fars Province, Southern, Iran
- November 28, 2013, Borazjan, Iran
- November 13, 1998, Bigherd-Khonj, Southern, Iran
- January 6, 2017, Khonj, Iran
- March 1, 1994, Firuzabad, Southern, Iran
- December 18, 1925, Ahram,domrubah,mahmudabadi,ab Garm, Iran
- September 8, 1992, Firuzabad, Iran
- April 1953, Khan-E-Zenyan,khatiri, Iran
- February 2, 1985, S, Firuzabad-Jahrom, Iran
More
Significant earthquakes of 1994The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1994Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 5390. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp0006ekv, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.