August 18, 2014 Earthquake: Abdanan, Ilam Province, Iran

At least 330 people injured in Ilam, Iran. At least 2,700 buildings collapsed and over 17,000 damaged at Abdanan and surrounding rural villages. Communication, electricity and water outages occurred at Abdanan. Felt (III) at Ahvaz, Iran. Also felt at Darehshahr and Shush. Felt at Al `Amarah, Iraq and at Al-Daiya, Kaifan and Subhan, Kuwait. Darehshahr, Ilam, Iran - CDI: 8; Ahwaz, Khuzestan, Iran - CDI: 4; Shush, Khuzestan, Iran - CDI: 3

Tectonic Summary

Seismotectonics of the Middle East and Vicinity

No fewer than four major tectonic plates (Arabia, Eurasia, India, and Africa) and one smaller tectonic block (Anatolia) are responsible for seismicity and tectonics in the Middle East and surrounding region. Geologic development of the region is a consequence of a number of first-order plate tectonic processes that include subduction, large-scale transform faulting, compressional mountain building and crustal extension...

Off the south coast of Pakistan and southeast coast of Iran, the Makran trench is the present-day surface expression of active subduction of the Arabia plate beneath the continental Eurasia plate, which converge at a rate of approximately 20 mm/yr. Although the Makran subduction zone has a relatively slow convergence rate, it has produced large devastating earthquakes and tsunamis. For example, the November 27, 1945 M8.0 mega-thrust earthquake produced a tsunami within the Gulf of Oman and Arabia Sea, killing over 4,000 people. Northwest of this active subduction zone, collision of the Arabia and Eurasia plates forms the approximately 1,500-km-long fold and thrust belt of the Zagros Mountains, which crosses the whole of western Iran and extends into northeastern Iraq. Collision of the Arabia and Eurasia plates also causes crustal shortening in the Alborz Mountains and Kopet Dag in northern Iran. Eastern Iran experiences destructive earthquakes that originate on both strike-slip and reverse faults. For example, the 16 September 1978 M7.8 earthquake, along the southwest edge of the Dasht-e-Lut Basin killed at least 15,000 people...

(above from reference #13456)

(Reuters) - A major earthquake struck the western Iranian city of Abdanan on Monday, leaving 60 people injured, state news agency IRNA said. IRNA said the quake was magnitude 6.1 while the US Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 6.3. Water, electricity, and telephone lines in Abdanan, located in the province of Ilam, have been cut, said IRNA. State television footage showed destroyed houses, buildings and cars in the city. Aftershocks could be felt in three provinces including Ilam, Lorestan and Khuzestan, IRNA said. (reference #11064)

250 injured, 43 million USD in total damage (reference #1250)