December 26, 2003 Earthquake: Bam, Baravat, Southeastern, Iran
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Bam, Baravat, Southeastern, Iran on December 26, 2003 at 01:56:52 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 31,000 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
- December 26, 2003
- Time
- 01:56:52 UTC
- Place
- Bam, Baravat, Southeastern, Iran
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 28.995° N, 58.311° E
- Country
- Iran
The toll
- Deaths
- 31,000
- Injuries
- 30,000
- Damage
- $500 million
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000)
- Houses damaged
- Very many (over 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 the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
About 31,000 people killed, 30,000 injured, 75,600 homeless and 85 percent of buildings damaged or destroyed in the Bam area. Maximum intensities IX at Bam and VIII at Baravat. Felt (V) at Kerman. Damage estimated at 32.7 million U.S. dollars. Surface ruptures associated with the Bam Fault were observed between Bam and Baravat. Maximum acceleration of 0.98g recorded at Bam. Landslides occurred in the epicentral area. Believed to be the largest earthquake in this area in more than 2000 years. (reference #1053)
During the medium-magnitude Bam urban earthquake, anywhere between 31,000 to 43,000 lives were lost out of a population of about 142,000 in Bam and surrounding areas. Between 30,000 and 50,000 people suffered injuries in the Bam region, requiring hospitalization, yet all the functioning hospitals in the area were severely damaged or demolished, as was the case during the 1990 Rudbar-Tarom earthquake in the city of Rudbar. The surviving inhabitants were rendered homeless. 1,500 million U.S. dollars in direct economic loss. (reference #12864)
500m USD total damage, 26796 deaths, 22628 injured (reference #1250)
41000 fatalities, 30000 injured 1.3 billion in economic loss (reference #13727)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 28, 1981, SE, Kerman, Iran
- June 11, 1981, Golbaft, SE, Iran
- September 22, 1923, Sirjan, Iran
- December 20, 2010, Kerman, Iran
- March 14, 1998, Golbaf, Baft, Kerman, Iran
- November 20, 1989, Shahdad, Kerman Province, Iran
- September 7, 2018, Kerman, Iran
- March 4, 1999, Kerman, Southern, Iran
- February 28, 2006, Southern, Iran
- 1896, Qobeh-E-Sabz (Kerman), Iran
- August 25, 2007, Hadji Abad, Orzuiyeh, Iran
More
Significant earthquakes of 2003The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2003Recent 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 5751.