January 2, 2014 Earthquake: Bastak, Iran

Felt Summary

One person killed and at least 30 people injured at Bastak.

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)

State TV says a magnitude 5.5 earthquake has killed one person and injured 30 in a small town in southern Iran. It says the quake struck early Thursday morning in the town of Bastak, about 1,200 kilometres south of the capital, Tehran. It says many of the town buildings were damaged and that rescue workers were on the scene. Later, the TV said 16 of the injured remain in hospital while 14 have been released after assistance. It also reported several aftershocks in the region of about 50,000 residents. (reference #10852)

1 death, 30 injured, 2 million USD total damages (reference #1250)