Major magnitude. 7.4 earthquake - Eastern Iran on Saturday, 16 September 1978 at 15:35 (GMT)

Major magnitude. 7.4 earthquake - Eastern Iran on Saturday, 16 September 1978 at 15:35 (GMT)

Major magnitude 7.4 earthquake at 33 km depth

Date & time: 16 Sep 1978 15:35:56 UTC
Magnitude: 7.4
Depth: 33.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 33.386°N / 57.434°E (Iran)
Nearest volcano: Gandom Beryan (227 km / 141 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
53 km (33 mi) ESE of Tabas (pop: 50,000) --> See nearby quakes!
158 km (98 mi) SW of Gonābād (pop: 43,500) --> See nearby quakes!
167 km (104 mi) WSW of Qā’en (pop: 40,200) --> See nearby quakes!
176 km (109 mi) WNW of Birjand (pop: 197,000) --> See nearby quakes!
214 km (133 mi) SSW of Bardaskan (pop: 28,200) --> See nearby quakes!
227 km (141 mi) SSW of Kāshmar (pop: 96,200) --> See nearby quakes!
243 km (151 mi) NNE of Rāvar (pop: 40,200) --> See nearby quakes!
266 km (166 mi) SW of Torbat-e Ḩeydarīyeh (pop: 125,600) --> See nearby quakes!
380 km (236 mi) SSW of Mashhad (pop: 2,307,200) --> See nearby quakes!
608 km (378 mi) ESE of Teheran (pop: 7,153,300) --> See nearby quakes!
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 7.9 x 1015 joules (2206 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 1.9 x 106 tons of TNT or 118.7 atomic bombs!) More info
[smaller] [bigger]
If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter), please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it!
Also if you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you!

Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
MagnitudeDepthLocationSource
M 7.433 kmeastern IranUSGS
Note: for quakes of 2012 and earlier, our database often contains only records from USGS.

User reports for this quake

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it be the first to report it!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
to top
to top

Aftershocks of the 7.4 quake Eastern Iran 16 September 1978 15:35 GMT

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (186 quakes):
  • 18 May 1980 06:30 UTC
    | M 4.7 |
    32 km (19.9 mi) depth
    |
    216 km (134 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 27 Apr 1980 09:18 UTC
    | M 4.3 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    212 km (131 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 14 Apr 1980 10:04 UTC
    | M 4.6 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    195 km (121 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 04 Mar 1980 07:08 UTC
    | M 4.2 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    199 km (124 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 30 Jan 1980 19:36 UTC
    | M 4.6 |
    10 km (6.2 mi) depth
    |
    191 km (118 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
  • 01 Jan 1970 00:00 UTC
    | M |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    7040 km (4374 mi) distance
    | | Details
    • Show all

to top

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

Major magnitude. 7.4 earthquake - Eastern Iran on Saturday, 16 September 1978 at 15:35 (GMT)
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
to top
Why is there advertising on this site?

Support us - Help us upgrade our server!

We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world. Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources.
Our server is reaching its limits and we need financing to increase capacity in order to deal with huge activity peaks when quakes occur. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every penny counts and every donation will be highly appreciated. If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features and in upgrading our software, please make a donation (PayPal or Online cc payment).

Planned features:
  • Weather reports
  • Tsunami alerts
  • Design upgrades
  • Faster responsiveness
Thanks to your past donations, these features have been added recently:
  • Earthquake archive from 1900 onwards
  • Additional seismic data sources
  • Improved content in English
Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online:
Android | IOS
Thank you! With best regards from the VolcanoDiscovery team.
Copyrights: VolcanoDiscovery and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most texts and images, in particular photographs, on this website are protected by copyright. Further reproduction and use of without authorization is usually not consented. If you are not sure or need licensing rights for photographs, for example for publications and commercial use, please contact us.