TEHRAN — The 19th nationwide earthquake maneuver, aiming to maintain preparedness to deal with the unpredictable incident, was conducted in schools across Iran on Wednesday.

The maneuver was carried out under the theme “safe school-resilient society” to increase disaster preparedness among students. 

Iran’s location makes it vulnerable to earthquakes, with several fault lines bisecting the country.

In a recent quake hitting the western province of Kermanshah on November 12 more than 480 died and at least 12,000 got injured and hundreds of thousands were displaced. 

In 2012, more than 200 people were killed after two powerful quakes struck the northwestern city of Tabriz. 

In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude temblor flattened the historic city of Bam, southeastern Iran, killing some 26,000 people.

In 1990, a 7.7-magnitude quake hit northern and northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan, leaving 37,000 people dead and 100,000 injured.

MQ/MG