Disaster Strucks Iran

June 21, 1990, was, perhaps, the last day of their life for many people in Iran, though they did not know it. The Manjil-Rudbar Earthquake struck their homeland on that day, at 00:30:09(21:00:09 June 20 1990 UTC), taking away with it the lives of many innocent people. It happened in Iran's Caspian seacoast. The earthquake caught experts by surprise because it struck off the beaten path for major earthquakes in that part of the globe. "We haven't had such a strong earthquake in that region for at least the past 500 years," said Mdansour Niazi, an Iranian geophysicist who is now an earthquake consultant in Berkeley. The south Caspian Sea has risen nearly five feet in the past decade, threatening to inundate several major industrial ports, and that has added substantial weight to the crust beneath the sea. That, in turn, could be increasing the strain along the faults in a process called "seismic loading." "The loading of the Caspian basin might be initiating the seismic behavior," Fletcher said.The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.4.

The cities of Rudbar, Manjil, and Lushan and 700 villages were destroyed, and over three hundred villages were affected. 100,000 adobe houses sustained major damage or collapsed resulting in forty thousand fatalities, and sixty thousand injured. 500,000people were left homeless. There was $7,000,000 in damage in Gilan and Zanjan provinces southwest of the Caspian Sea.

Rescue operations were hampered by the fact that the earthquake occurred in the middle of the night, by adverse weather conditions, and by the rugged terrain of the mountain villages. Roads and highways were blocked by extensive landslides further hampering rescue operations.

Relief organizations and Southern California's Iranian community geared up Thursday to solicit money and other assistance for victims of Iran's devastating earthquake. "The best way to provide assistance now is to send a cash donation," said Peggy McGinley of the American Red Cross. "Those funds will be channeled through our international network to the Red Crescent Society in Iran." McGinley said the Red Cross will help in providing other aid "once we learn what their needs are". Setting aside years of animosity, the U.S. government joined with private humanitarian groups Friday to funnel medicine, tents, clothing, food and other relief materials to help earthquake-stricken Iran. State Department officials said the government gave $300,000 worth of supplies to the American Red Cross for shipment to Iran--including 1,000 hard hats, 1,000 pairs of leather gloves, 10,000 face masks, 2,940 wool blankets and about 500 tents.

In my opinion, before an earthquake ever happens, buildings have to be engineered specifically with earthquakes in mind. Major problems during earthquakes that can be avoided with a little thought are failure of structural systems, failure of nonstructural systems, damage from unanchored equipment and furniture, and loss of electricity. A well-engineered building will not have these results. Minimizing hazards in an earthquake is imperative for reducing the risk of loss of life and limb to building occupants. The knowledge of where to seek shelter and anchoring essential equipment can also make the difference between life and death. Knowing how to give first aid, shut off gas, electricity, and water, and being prepared with transistor radios and flashlights can be done to become prepared if an earthquake ever happens. To avoid injuries during an earthquake, people should watch out for falling objects and stay away from windows and other glass objects. Also, people should attempt to hide under a stable structure that will protect them from objects that are falling. People should be prepared for aftershocks, which are common following earthquakes. As long as we put in the effort, damage can be minimized from earthquake.

Bibliography

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http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/historical_country.php, extracted 22/02/10

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Manjil-Rudbar_earthquake , extracted 22/02/10

Thuy Trinh and Andrew Beavers, http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/avprojects/98proj/world_volc/web_docs/iran.html , extracted 23/02/10

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Lee Dye, http://articles.latimes.com/1990-06-22/news/mn-102_1_areas-quake-years , extracted 28/02/10

Edward J. Boyer, http://articles.latimes.com/1990-06-22/news/mn-103_1_local-red-cross , extracted 28/02/10

Sam Fulwood lll, http://articles.latimes.com/1990-06-23/news/mn-169_1_american-red-cross , extracted 28/02/10

http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/earthquakes.htm