Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: How many died in the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran?
The 2003 Bam earthquake struck the Kerman province of southeastern Iran at 01:56UTC (5:26AM Iran Standard Time) on December 26. The shock had a moment magnitude of 6.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The earthquake was particularly destructive in Bam, with the death toll amounting to at least 26,271 people and injuring up to 30,000. The effects of the earthquake were exacerbated by the use of mud brick as the standard construction medium; many of the area's structures did not comply with earthquake regulations set in 1989.
Media related to 2003 Bam earthquake at Wikimedia Commons
Before the earthquake, Bam had a population of roughly 97,000.[5] It is one of the most popular tourism areas of Iran, one of its most popular attractions being its 2000-year-old mud-brick Bam Citadel. During the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) Bam was a large trading hub due to its location on the Silk Road. It gradually declined in significance after the Afghans invaded in 1722, serving as an army camp until its abandonment in 1932. The city became a tourist attraction in 1953, when restoration of Bam's Old Quarter began.[6]
List of earthquakes in 2003 List of earthquakes in Iran
The quake occurred at 01:56UTC (5:26AM Iran Standard Time) on December 26, 2003. Its epicenter was roughly 10 kilometres (6mi) southwest of the ancient city of Bam. Maximum intensities were at Bam and Baravat, with the most damage concentrated within the 16 kilometres (10mi) radius around the city.[12]
The 2003 Bam earthquake struck Bam and the surrounding Kerman province of south-eastern Iran at 01:56 UTC (5:26 AM Iran Standard Time) on 26 December 2003. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is 6.6 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw); estimated by the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake was particularly destructive, with the death toll amounting to 26,271 people and injuring an additional 30,000. The effects of the earthquake and damage was exacerbated by the fact that the city chiefly consisted of mud brick buildings, many of which did not comply with earthquake regulations set in Iran in 1989, and that most of the city's people were indoors and asleep.
Although the permanent hospital in Bam was rebuilt, the temporary hospital is stored in preparation for a future emergency response to as disaster, not only in Iran but in the regional area. In response to the earthquake, the International Federation of the Red Cross mobilized international funds and resources to assist the Iranian Red Crescent in vastly improving its environmental disaster response strategies which has seen the construction of an urban health center and ten schools with a formal training programme for its relief officers, and a road rescue station, completed in late 2005.[37]
After the earthquake, the Iranian government considered moving the state capital from Tehran to another location for fear of a crippling event similar to what had just befallen Bam. Tehran lies on a major fault which scientists have predicted may suffer from a devastating earthquake similar to that of Bam in the near future. The most cited example for the new capital was Isfahan, a city in central Iran that had previously served as capital until it was moved to Tehran in 1788.[21]
On December 26, 2003, the Citadel was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake, along with much of the rest of Bam and its environs. A few days after the earthquake, the President of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, announced that the Citadel would be rebuilt.
Following the earthquake, the Iranian government seriously considered moving the capital of Tehran in fear of an earthquake occurring there. The earthquake had a psychological impact on many of the victims for years afterwards. A new institutional framework in Iran was established to address problems of urban planning and to reconstruct the city of Bam in compliance with strict seismic regulations. This process marked a turning point, as government ministers and international organizations collaborated under this framework with local engineers and local people to organize the systematic rebuilding of the city.
Iran suffers from frequent earthquakes, with minor quakes occurring almost daily.[7] This earthquake occurred as a result of stresses generated by movement of one tectonic plate, the Arabian plate, moving northward against another, the Eurasian plate, at approximately 3 centimetres (1in) per year. The Earth's crust deforms in response to the plate motion in a broad zone spanning the width of Iran and extending north into Turkmenistan. Earthquakes occur as the result of reverse faulting and strike-slip faulting in the zone of deformation.[10]
The 2003 Bam earthquake: On 26 December 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the moment magnitude scale struck the ancient city of Bam in Iran, killing more than 26,000 people and leaving 75,000 homeless. Merlin responded within 72 hours of the disaster, sending in a team to carry out health assessments and to distribute emergency medical supplies, hygiene packs, and essential water and sanitation items. Merlin stayed in Bam for more than a year following the disaster, and helped build or refurbish 32 medical houses and 11 health centres.
He has 23 years of experience in the search and rescue arena. He has led his team of volunteer members to serve in various international search and rescue operations and also humanitarian aid, namely, Bam Iran earthquake in 2003, Bandar Aceh earthquake and tsunami in 2004, Peru earthquake in 2007, Sichuan earthquake in 2008, Cyclone Nargis Myanmar in 2008, Typhoon Ketsana Philippines in 2009, Thailand Floods Operation in 2011, Nepal earthquake in April 2015, and Pidie Jaya, Aceh earthquake in 2016.
The modern Iranian city of Bam surrounds the Bam citadel. Before the 2003 earthquake the official population count of the city was roughly 43,000. There are various opinions about the date and reasons for the foundation of the citadel. Economically and commercially, Bam occupied a very important place in the region and was famed for its textiles and clothes. Ibn Hawqal (943–977), the Arab traveller and geographer, wrote of Bam in his book "Surat-ul-`ard" ("The Earth-figure"):
Immediately following the 2003 earthquake, the Iranian government began to plan a new city based on population control theories in order to eliminate problems that existed with the old city. The development of the plan took at least six months and resulted in significant complaints against the central government and local government by the Bam earthquake survivors. Nevertheless, government in Tehran continued its plans and currently the city is being rebuilt. The citadel is also being rebuilt with specialist care from the Ministry of Culture and from Japanese universities. The earthquake was an extreme tragedy and stunted the growth of Bam as a city, especially as about half of the city's residents were killed and most of the remainder hurt. Costs of the earthquake mounted to between $700 million and $1 billion U.S. dollars.
The preliminary analysis of the pattern of seismic-waves radiating from December 26, 2003 earthquake was consistent with the earthquake having been caused by right-lateral strike-slip motion on a north-south oriented fault. The earthquake occurred in a region within which major north-south, right-lateral, strike-slip faults had been previously mapped, and the epicenter is near the previously mapped, north-south oriented Bam Fault. However, field investigations will be necessary to find if the earthquake occurred on the Bam Fault or on another. The Bam earthquake is 100 kilometres (62mi) south of the destructive earthquakes of June 11, 1981 (magnitude 6.6, approximately 3,000 deaths) and July 28, 1981 (magnitude 7.3, approximately 1,500 deaths). These earthquakes were caused by a combination of reverse-motion and strike-slip motion on the north-south oriented Gowk fault.[10]
Psychologically, the earthquake had a profound impact on its victims and not just in the immediate aftermath. As a result of the quake, two hospitals in Bam collapsed leaving the remaining hospitals to be overcrowded. Emergency centers were set up to care for the injured, though many centers did not have enough room to do so.[7] Of all of Bam's health workers, half were killed in the rupture. The World Health Organization (WHO) appealed for $4 million in medical relief. One of the priorities in this operation was to help mental health patients, many of whom were traumatized over the experience.[30] A situation report released by the U.N. Disaster Assessment Coordination Team noted a rise in post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.[23]
Bam 6.6 is a documentary about the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran. The film, subtitled "Humanity has no Borders", was produced and directed by Jahangir Golestanparast.
Up to ninety[13] percent of buildings and infrastructure in the Bam area were either damaged or destroyed, with 70% of houses being completely destroyed,[7] plus 70–90% of Bam's residential areas.[14] This left an estimated 100,000 homeless. Not a single house was standing in Baravat.[15] An important regional center during the 16th and 17th centuries, Bam contained many buildings that were not constructed to survive such ruptures.[7] Many houses in Bam were homemade, and its owners did not use skilled labor or proper building materials to resist earthquakes in the construction. These were often built in the traditional mud-brick style.[15] Mohsen Aboutorabi, professor of architecture at the University of Central England, demonstrated the lack of good building materials by banging two bricks together in Bam, resulting in cracking. On the other hand, Iranian regulations laid down in the 1989 Iran seismic code.[16] were better enforced in high rise buildings and skyscrapers.[17]
On December 26, 2003, the ancient city of Bam in south Iran - which is on the UNESCO list of world heritages on the account of its unique mud-brick architecture - was hit with a devastating earthquake; it severed and killed tens of thousands and ruined the city. As Mohammad Reza Shajarian had decided through the occurrences of the previous natural disasters in Iran, he organized another benefit concert by the following month which is notably documented on the DVD "Hamnava ba Bam" (“Compassion for Bam”) that is released on Delnawaz. Apart from the concert, he initiated a project to help the people after the earthquake.
AKUT undertook international missions following the 1999 Athens earthquake in Greece, the 1999 Taiwan earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake in India and the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran.
The modern city of Bam has gradually developed as an agricultural and industrial centre, and until the 2003 earthquake was experiencing rapid growth. In particular, the city is known for its dates and citrus fruit, irrigated by a substantial network of qanats. The city also benefited from tourism, with an increasing number of people visiting the ancient citadel in recent years.
Following the earthquake the U.S. offered direct humanitarian assistance to Iran and in return the state promised to comply with an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency which supports greater monitoring of its nuclear interests. In total a reported 44 countries sent in personnel to assist in relief operations and 60 countries offered assistance.
The rupture length of the earthquake was estimated to be around 24kilometers. More than half of the quake was produced from its southern segment of approximately 13 kilometres (8mi), where the slip reached a maximum of up to 270 centimetres (8.9ft) resulting in a large stress drop of at least 6 MPa. Optical remote sensing data shows that the Bam fault is not a single fault but consists of a 4–5km wide fault system with the main branch running between the cities of Bam and Baravat. The fault ruptured by the Bam earthquake is believed to stretch the along northwest branch of this fault system from Bam southward. Based on these results, scientists suggest that the Bam earthquake ruptured a hidden fault and that in this process an unusually strong asperity was involved, causing the widespread devastation of the tremor.[11]
Mona Zandi put together a book called "You Were so Kind!", a collection of children’s letters and drawings based on the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran. According to Iranica Online, the earthquake had “the highest casualty rate and the most profound social impact in the recorded post-1900 history of devastating urban earthquakes in Iran.”