TEHRAN — Nine minor earthquakes struck the eastern outskirts of Iran’s capital Tehran in a single night, raising fresh fears of a larger seismic event in a region under mounting crustal stress, experts said.
Iranian state news agency Mehr News reported that the tremors were felt Wednesday night, May 13, in the Pardis area east of Tehran. The earthquakes occurred near the Mosha fault, one of the country’s most seismically active zones.
The roughly 150-kilometer-long fault lies just 40 kilometers from Tehran. Experts said that while small tremors occur intermittently in the area, having so many earthquakes in a single night is unusual.
One of the quakes measured 4.6 in magnitude, according to Mehr News. There were no reports of casualties or major damage.
Seismologist Mehdi Zare said it is not yet possible to say with certainty whether the tremors mark a release of underground energy that could reduce future risk, or are a precursor to a bigger quake. He warned that Tehran’s risk does not come from active fault lines alone, but is also worsened by dense population, unplanned urban growth and weak preparedness.
Even relatively small earthquakes could cause major disruption in the capital, Zare said, because much of the city’s infrastructure is weak and heavy traffic complicates emergency response.
More than 15 million people live in Tehran. The city sits close to three major active faults — North Tehran, Mosha and Rey. Iranian experts have long warned that a strong earthquake near Tehran could trigger a humanitarian catastrophe.
Iran, one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, has not forgotten the 2003 Bam earthquake, in which more than 30,000 people died.
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