A moment magnitude () 6.4 earthquake struck northern Kerman province, Iran on 22 February 2005, at 05:55:22 Iran Standard Time (02:25:22 UTC). At least 612 people were killed and 5,000 more were injured, with most of the fatalities occurring in several rural villages near the epicenter. Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, most of them in Zarand County, the earthquake's epicentral location. Fatalities and structural collapses also occurred in nearby Ravar County and the city of Kerman.
Tectonic setting
The Iranian plateau is a broad zone of deformed continental crust as it is wedged between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. The Arabian plate, located southeast of the plateau, undergoes oblique convergence with the Eurasian plate in the northeast at a rate of annually. Deformation of the crust is distributed non-uniformly by the fold and thrust belts of the Zagros, Alborz, and Kopet Dag; oceanic lithosphere subduction along the Makran Trench; and strike-slip and reverse faulting within the plateau. The Iranian plateau itself is divided into rigid tectonic blocks. These crustal blocks are aseismic, but at their boundaries, seismicity is high.
Zarand in Kerman province is close to an active fault, known as the Kuhbanan fault in the north east of the city. Its trend is northwest–southeast and its length is . Zarand has been hit by several earthquakes since 1933. In December 1977, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck north of Zarand, killing at least 584 people.
Earthquake
The maximum recorded peak ground acceleration was 0.51 g at Shirinrud dam. The earthquake was followed by about 30 aftershocks measuring 2.0–4.0 within about three hours of the mainshock.
Damage and casualties
According to the USGS' PAGER-CAT catalog, the earthquake killed 612 people, Across Zarand County, over 8,000 buildings In addition, 5,000 others were injured, most of which were minor. and 20 villages were completely destroyed, while 90% of homes in 40 villages and 50% of homes in 25 others collapsed. In Ravar County, three people were killed Economic losses amounted to US$80 million.
At least 45% of homes in Vahdat and Khanuk Rural Districts were damaged, along with 30% of buildings in Reyhan Shahr. The village of Dahuiyeh was destroyed, with 200 residents dying there, while all homes were destroyed and 337 people were killed in Hotkan, In addition, 50 people were killed after the village of Sar Bagh was razed, while in Bahaabad, 55 fatalities were recorded and 80% of homes collapsed. Seven people were killed in Kerman,
Response
More than 50 relief teams from the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRC), consisting of 1,500 staff and volunteers, eight rescue dogs and a government plane from Tehran, carrying relief supplies, including 795 tents, 800 blankets, 100 stretchers and some 600 packages of bread, were dispatched to Kerman province. Rescue workers faced difficulties while attempting to reach affected villages due to heavy rains and roads being blocked by landslides.