How many died in the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran?
413915#4
The 2003 Bam earthquake struck Bam and the surrounding Kerman province of south-eastern Iran at 01:56 UTC (5:26 AM Iran Standard Time) on 26 December 2003. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is 6.6 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw); estimated by the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake was particularly destructive, with the death toll amounting to 26,271 people and injuring an additional 30,000. The effects of the earthquake and damage was exacerbated by the fact that the city chiefly consisted of mud brick buildings, many of which did not comply with earthquake regulations set in Iran in 1989, and that most of the city's people were indoors and asleep.
Bam, Iran
17422933#0
The 2003 Bam earthquake struck the Kerman province of southeastern Iran at 01:56 UTC (5:26 AM Iran Standard Time) on December 26. The shock had a moment magnitude of 6.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX ("Violent"). The earthquake was particularly destructive in Bam, with the death toll amounting to at least 26,271 people and injuring up to 30,000. The effects of the earthquake were exacerbated by the use of mud brick as the standard construction medium; many of the area's structures did not comply with earthquake regulations set in 1989.
2003 Bam earthquake
3239798#6
The 2003 Bam earthquake: On 26 December 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the moment magnitude scale struck the ancient city of Bam in Iran, killing more than 26,000 people and leaving 75,000 homeless. Merlin responded within 72 hours of the disaster, sending in a team to carry out health assessments and to distribute emergency medical supplies, hygiene packs, and essential water and sanitation items. Merlin stayed in Bam for more than a year following the disaster, and helped build or refurbish 32 medical houses and 11 health centres.
Medical Emergency Relief International
17422933#10
Up to ninety percent of buildings and infrastructure in the Bam area were either damaged or destroyed, with 70% of houses being completely destroyed, plus 70–90% of Bam's residential areas. This left an estimated 100,000 homeless. Not a single house was standing in Baravat. An important regional center during the 16th and 17th centuries, Bam contained many buildings that were not constructed to survive such ruptures. Many houses in Bam were homemade, and its owners did not use skilled labor or proper building materials to resist earthquakes in the construction. These were often built in the traditional mud-brick style. Mohsen Aboutorabi, professor of architecture at the University of Central England, demonstrated the lack of good building materials by banging two bricks together in Bam, resulting in cracking. On the other hand, Iranian regulations laid down in the 1989 Iran seismic code. were better enforced in high rise buildings and skyscrapers.
2003 Bam earthquake
402585#8
On December 26, 2003, the ancient city of Bam in south Iran - which is on the UNESCO list of world heritages on the account of its unique mud-brick architecture - was hit with a devastating earthquake; it severed and killed tens of thousands and ruined the city. As Mohammad Reza Shajarian had decided through the occurrences of the previous natural disasters in Iran, he organized another benefit concert by the following month which is notably documented on the DVD "Hamnava ba Bam" (“Compassion for Bam”) that is released on Delnawaz. Apart from the concert, he initiated a project to help the people after the earthquake.
Mohammad-Reza Shajarian
17422933#3
Before the earthquake, Bam had a population of roughly 97,000. It is one of the most popular tourism areas of Iran, one of its most popular attractions being its 2000-year-old mud-brick Bam Citadel. During the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) Bam was a large trading hub due to its location on the Silk Road. It gradually declined in significance after the Afghans invaded in 1722, serving as an army camp until its abandonment in 1932. The city became a tourist attraction in 1953, when restoration of Bam's Old Quarter began.
2003 Bam earthquake
17422933#2
Following the earthquake, the Iranian government seriously considered moving the capital of Tehran in fear of an earthquake occurring there. The earthquake had a psychological impact on many of the victims for years afterwards. A new institutional framework in Iran was established to address problems of urban planning and to reconstruct the city of Bam in compliance with strict seismic regulations. This process marked a turning point, as government ministers and international organizations collaborated under this framework with local engineers and local people to organize the systematic rebuilding of the city.
2003 Bam earthquake
17422933#40
Psychologically, the earthquake had a profound impact on its victims and not just in the immediate aftermath. As a result of the quake, two hospitals in Bam collapsed leaving the remaining hospitals to be overcrowded. Emergency centers were set up to care for the injured, though many centers did not have enough room to do so. Of all of Bam's health workers, half were killed in the rupture. The World Health Organization (WHO) appealed for $4 million in medical relief. One of the priorities in this operation was to help mental health patients, many of whom were traumatized over the experience. A situation report released by the U.N. Disaster Assessment Coordination Team noted a rise in post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
2003 Bam earthquake
17422933#25
During the nights following the earthquake, the temperatures would drop to "bitterly cold" extremes, effectively killing some survivors. Many of these individuals were living in unheated tents among the rubble which forced the coordinators to move thousands of families to heated camps on the outskirts of Bam. Unfortunately, this action was met with some resistance and resulted in many residents to stay in place. The Iranian government was, conversely, criticized for not doing enough supplying of tents. Those that owned motorized vehicles were met with jammed traffic going both ways through Bam. Survivors loaded their belongings to move elsewhere while relief supplies, volunteers, and relatives were arriving. In some areas, looters stole food from warehouses and local markets, causing the police force to react to stop further destabilization of the rescue efforts.
2003 Bam earthquake
17422933#6
The preliminary analysis of the pattern of seismic-waves radiating from December 26, 2003 earthquake was consistent with the earthquake having been caused by right-lateral strike-slip motion on a north-south oriented fault. The earthquake occurred in a region within which major north-south, right-lateral, strike-slip faults had been previously mapped, and the epicenter is near the previously mapped, north-south oriented Bam Fault. However, field investigations will be necessary to find if the earthquake occurred on the Bam Fault or on another. The Bam earthquake is south of the destructive earthquakes of June 11, 1981 (magnitude 6.6, approximately 3,000 deaths) and July 28, 1981 (magnitude 7.3, approximately 1,500 deaths). These earthquakes were caused by a combination of reverse-motion and strike-slip motion on the north-south oriented Gowk fault.
2003 Bam earthquake