TEHRAN –The 9th International Conference on Seismology and Earthquake Engineering will be held in Tehran from May 7 to 9.

The conference will be held under the theme of ‘earthquake and megacities, with a focus on Tehran’.

Seismology and Early Warning Systems, Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Structural Earthquake Engineering, and Earthquake Risk Management are the main topics of the conference, IRNA reported.

The event is held every four years, attracting many researchers and experts who attend to share their latest findings.

Six prominent foreign lectures are attending the conference, a total of 415 articles will be presented in the form of lectures and posters, and 43 articles from other countries will focus on seismology, the earthquakes, faults, and magnitudes of earthquakes, as well as prevention in terms of securing buildings and their designs, and post-earthquake, that is crisis management.

The articles are from Germany, Norway, the U.S., Spain, Australia, the UAE, England, Italy, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, China, Sweden, France, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Czech Republic, and other countries.

The main goal of the conference is to solve the problems that exist in the country regarding major earthquakes in metropolitan cities such as Tehran, Tabriz, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Isfahan.

It will study earthquakes and their issues in Iran and seek measures to address problems related to earthquakes, i.e. to create safer cities and buildings that can withstand and resist earthquakes.

Meanwhile, 16 specialized workshops will be conducted in fields such as construction on faults, Tehran earthquakes, and the design and construction of resilient hospitals.

At the end of the conference, based on the data obtained in these workshops, a resolution will be formulated to promote resilience and crisis management and develop safe construction practices for officials and policymakers.

Earthquakes in Iran

Iran, being located between two Arabian and Euro-Asian tectonic plates, has experienced several destructive earthquakes, leaving heavy causalities and serious deterioration in different periods of its history.

Over 130 severe earthquakes happened in the 20th century in the country, leaving socio-economic losses and long-lasting effects that indicate the seismicity and vulnerability of this country.

Unfortunately, during some of these disastrous natural events, even the invaluable evidence of ancient Persian culture has been flattened to the ground. All the aforementioned facts confirm the crucial necessity of being concerned about seeking a remedy in order to prevent and diminish these effects.

Almost 6,950 quakes in a year
Some 6,949 earthquakes have been recorded across the country over the past calendar year, which ended on March 20, according to the Seismological networks of the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Tehran.

Most of the earthquakes happened respectively in the northeastern Khorasan Razavi, southeastern Kerman, northwestern West Azarbaijan, and eastern South Khorasan provinces, ISNA reported.

Statistically, 2, 268 earthquakes were less than 2 on the Richter scale, 3,685 were between 2 and 3, 796 were between 3 and 4, 181 were between 4 and 5, 22 were between 5 and 6, and 5 were between 6 and 7.

About 2 percent of the earthquakes in the world occur in Iran but more than 6 percent of the victims of the world earthquakes during the 20th century are reported from Iranian earthquakes. This shows the high level of vulnerability in Iran, according to Mehdi Zare, a professor of engineering seismology.

Iran has entered a decade of earthquakes since the [Iranian calendar] year 1396 (March 2017-March 2018), as the Iranian plateau is shrinking by 30 millimeters per year, Mehdi Zare, professor of engineering seismology at the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES), has said.

The Strait of Hormuz region in the south of Iran has the highest seismic activity in the region and its formation is related to the continuation of the convergent movement between the Arabian plate and the central continental plate of Iran.

Tehran is also one of the most hazardous metropolises in the world in terms of the risk of different natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, subsidence, drought, landslides, fire following an earthquake, etc.

On the other hand, Tehran has a nighttime population of over 8,300,000 with a mixture of old non-resistant structures as well as modern high-rise buildings that affect the vulnerability of this city.

Intl. Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering (IIEES)

Regarding the high seismicity, vulnerability, and high seismic risk of this region, the International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering (IIEES) was established in November 1989 following the suggestion of the 24th UNESCO General Conference and approval of the Iranian government “Council of Higher Education Development” based on the investment of Iranian experts in the earthquake engineering.

In order to realize the goals of the institute and develop the knowledge in this arena, training intelligent students could be of great help. In this regard, IIEES was approved as a “Research Center” at the 408th meeting of the “Council of Higher Education Development” in 1999 and then its new doctrine was affirmed in August 2001.

Today IIEES is engaged in the implementation of national and international projects and will take effective steps in protecting the lives and properties of human beings against the activities of nature thanks to all its responsible and qualified researchers.

The main goals of IIEES are investigation, technology, and education in all aspects pertinent to seismology, earthquake engineering, earthquake hazard, and suggesting practical approaches and supporting their implementation to reduce the risks of earthquakes and develop the security culture against earthquakes in this country and in the region.

The International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering (IIEES) hopes to bring together more scientists and researchers in the field of earthquake science and engineering by holding conferences every four years and turn this international conference into a memorable scientific and cultural event.

MT/MG