TEHRAN –A total of 349 earthquakes have been recorded across the country over the last month of the past Iranian year that ended on March 19, according to the seismological networks of the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Tehran.

The epicenter of 25 earthquakes was in neighboring countries, namely Azerbaijan (5), Afghanistan (13), Turkey (2), and Turkmenistan (5).

Of the total quakes, one had a magnitude of more than 5 on the Richter scale, which occurred on March 5 with a magnitude of 5.6 in Fonoj, southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Statistically, 126 earthquakes with a magnitude smaller than 2, 179 earthquakes with magnitudes between 2 and 3, 36 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3 and 4, and 6 earthquakes with magnitudes between 4 and 5 have occurred in the country.

Northeastern Khorasan Razavi province registered the highest number of earthquakes (54), followed by central Isfahan province (42), and southern Kerman province (32).

Over the first eleven months of the past Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2023-February 19, 2024), 6,610 earthquakes were recorded in the country.

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

Statistically, 2,142 earthquakes were less than 2 on the Richter scale, 3,506 were between 2 and 3, 760 were between 3 and 4, 175 were between 4 and 5, 22 were between 5 and 6, and 5 were between 6 and 7.

The Iranian plateau is located in a very seismically active region of the world and is known not only for its major catastrophic earthquakes but also for the disasters relating to natural hazards, especially earthquakes.

About 2 percent of the earthquakes in the world occur in Iran but more than 6% 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.

MT/MG