April 9, 2013 Earthquake: Shanbe, Kaki, Sena, Bushehr Province, Iran

2013, April 9, 11:52:49.9 UTC. 28.428 N, 51.593 E, depth 12 km, magnitude 5.9 mb, 6.3 MS, 6.3 Mw (GCMT).

Ash-Shariqah, as-Sariqah, United Arab Emirates - CDI: 4; al-Manqaf, al-Ahmadi, Kuwait - CDI: 4; Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - CDI: 4; al-Wukayr, al-Wakrah, Qatar - CDI: 4; Shiraz, Fars, Iran - CDI: 4 (reference #13456)

Felt Report

At least 37 people killed, 850 injured, 200 families homeless, 700 houses damaged and power, telephone and water services disrupted in the Kaki area. Over 92 villages damaged in the Kaki-Sena-Shanbeh area. Landslides occurred at Kaki. Felt (IV) at Shiraz. Also felt (IV) at Abu Dhabi and (III) at Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Felt (III) at Manama, Bahrain, at Doha, Qatar and at Ad Damman, Saudi Arabia. Felt throughout the Persian Gulf region in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

Tectonic Summary

The April 9, 2013 M6.3 earthquake in southern Iran occurred as result of northeast-southwest oriented thrust-type motion in the shallow crust of the Arabian plate. The depth and style of faulting in this event are consistent with shortening of the shallow Arabian crust within the Zagros Mountains in response to active convergence between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. Because this event is an intraplate event, occurring almost 300 km south of the main plate boundary, and since the event likely did not break the surface, precise identification of the causative fault is difficult at this time.

On a broad scale, the seismotectonics of southern Iran are controlled by active convergence between the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates. This motion manifests in two ways: subduction in the Makran which stretches from the mouth of the Persian Gulf eastward into Pakistan, and continental collision in the Zagros Mountains, which stretch from the Makran northward into Iraq and Turkey. The April 9 event occurred within the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt - the portion of the Zagros Mountains that border the north shore of the Persian Gulf. At the latitude of the event, convergence rates between Arabia and Eurasia are approximately 30 mm/yr.

The Zagros Mountains experience high rates of seismicity, with thrust-type events similar to the April 9 earthquake and right-lateral strike slip events common. Recent thrust-type events as large as M6 have occurred south of the April 9 epicentral area in the Bandar-e-Abbas region. Highly damaging events such as the 2003 M6.6 Bam earthquake occurred outside of the Zagros Mountains, north of the Makran subduction zone, 660 km to the east of the April 9 event. While the Zagros region experiences high rates of seismicity, large (>M7) surface rupturing earthquakes here are rare.

(above from reference #1053)

A powerful earthquake struck close to Iran's only nuclear power station on Tuesday, killing 30 people and injuring 800 as it devastated small villages, state media reported. The 6.3 magnitude quake totally destroyed one village, a Red Crescent official told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), but the nearby Bushehr nuclear plant was undamaged, according to a local politician and the Russian company that built it. "Up until now the earthquake has left behind 30 dead and 800 injured," said Fereydoun Hassanvand, the governor of Bushehr province, according to ISNA. Many houses in rural parts of the province are made of mud brick, which can easily crumble in a quake. Across the Gulf, offices in Qatar and Bahrain were evacuated after the quake, whose epicentre was 89 km (55 miles) southeast of the port of Bushehr, according to the USGS. The early afternoon shock was also felt in financial hub Dubai. (reference #10492)

37 deaths, 850 injured, 600m USD(reference #1250)

37 deaths, 850 injured, 700 houses damaged, 297m USD total damage (reference #13045)