Borujerd earthquake, March 2006
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Borujerd earthquake occurred in the early morning of March 31, 2006 in the South of Borujerd
with massive destruction in Borujerd, Silakhor and Dorood areas of the Loristan Province in Western Iran
. The centre of the earthquake was in Darb-e Astaneh Village in South of the Borujerd City.
A lighter foreshock
happened the night before, and people stayed outside overnight and this reduced the number of casualties significantly. However, the mainshock at 4:47 a.m on March 31, shook Borujerd, Dorud and other towns and villages on Silakhor Plain for more than 55 seconds. The earthquake measured 6.1 on the Richter
Scale.
This powerful earthquake shook the entire land of Loristan Province and most areas of Hamedan Province, Markazi Province
and destroyed many villages in Khorramabad
, Alashtar
and Arak County
as well. More than 180 aftershocks followed the main earthquake in April, May and June and people had to stay outside for several weeks.
More than 40 major historical monuments of Borujerd were destroyed by the earthquake and 30% of the historical downtown of the city (2.7 kmª) was ruined or damaged thoroughly http://www.chtn.ir/newsShow.aspx?ID=2344|CHN. Other monuments damaged by the earthquake include:
Apart from UN agencies e.g. UNESCO and UNICEF, there are other international agencies functioning in the field, including MSF, Caritas Italy, Operation Mercy, ACH Spain and ACT Netherlands http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0604056531220118.htmhttp://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EKOI-6NR3GX?OpenDocument.
Borujerd
Borujerd is a city in and capital of Borujerd County, Lorestan Province in western Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 227,547, in 59,388 families....
with massive destruction in Borujerd, Silakhor and Dorood areas of the Loristan Province in Western Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. The centre of the earthquake was in Darb-e Astaneh Village in South of the Borujerd City.
Foreshock
A foreshock is an earthquake that occurs before a larger seismic event and is related to it in both time and space. The designation of an earthquake as foreshock, mainshock or aftershock is only possible after the event....
happened the night before, and people stayed outside overnight and this reduced the number of casualties significantly. However, the mainshock at 4:47 a.m on March 31, shook Borujerd, Dorud and other towns and villages on Silakhor Plain for more than 55 seconds. The earthquake measured 6.1 on the Richter
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
Scale.
This powerful earthquake shook the entire land of Loristan Province and most areas of Hamedan Province, Markazi Province
Markazi Province
Markazi Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. The word markazi means central in Persian. Markazi lies in western Iran. Its capital is Arak. Its population is estimated at 1.35 million...
and destroyed many villages in Khorramabad
Khorramabad
Khorramabad is a city in and capital of Lorestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 328,544, in 75,945 families. Khorramabad is situated in the Zagros Mountains...
, Alashtar
Alashtar
Aleshtar is a city in and capital of Selseleh County, Lorestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 28,306, in 6,033 families....
and Arak County
Arak County
Arak County is a county in Markazi Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Arak. Its former name was Sultanabad. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 602,971, in 165,955 families; excluding those portions, the population was 535,449, in 148,646 families...
as well. More than 180 aftershocks followed the main earthquake in April, May and June and people had to stay outside for several weeks.
More than 40 major historical monuments of Borujerd were destroyed by the earthquake and 30% of the historical downtown of the city (2.7 kmª) was ruined or damaged thoroughly http://www.chtn.ir/newsShow.aspx?ID=2344|CHN. Other monuments damaged by the earthquake include:
- Jame Mosque of BorujerdJame Mosque of BorujerdThe Jāmeh Mosque of Borujerd is a congregational mosque in Borujerd, in the province of Loristan, western Iran. The mosque is the oldest mosque in the Zagros area and western Iran. It ranks as No. 228 in the Inventory of National Artefacts of Iran....
(900 A.D.) - Soltani Mosque of BorujerdSoltani Mosque of BorujerdThe Soltani Mosque of Borujerd is a large mosque in the centre of Borujerd, in the province of Lorestan, western Iran.The edifice was built in the Qajar period atop the ruins of an older mosque, which had been probably built in 10th century AD...
- Imamzadeh Ja'far, BorujerdImamzadeh Ja'far, BorujerdImāmzādeh Ja‘far is a historical mausoleum in Borujerd, western Iran. The tomb contains the remains of Abulqāsim Ja’far ibn al-Husayn, grandson of the Shī‘ah Imam Ali ibn Hussayn.-History:...
- Chalenchoolan Bridge
- Ghaleh Hatam Bridge
- Birjandi Old House of Borujerd
- Mesri Old House of Borujerd
- Imamzadeh Khalogh Ali
- Tekyeh Movassaghi
- Pahlavei High School
Apart from UN agencies e.g. UNESCO and UNICEF, there are other international agencies functioning in the field, including MSF, Caritas Italy, Operation Mercy, ACH Spain and ACT Netherlands http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0604056531220118.htmhttp://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EKOI-6NR3GX?OpenDocument.
Facts of Borujerd earthquake
- 66 people killed
- 1450 people injured
- 330 villages destroyed (30-100%)
- 45000 houses destroyed (30-100%) only in the City of Borujerd
- 136 schools destroyed 100% and more than 200 other schools were damaged only in Borujerd and its villages IRNA