On Feb 28, 1997, a moderate sized earthquake with magnitude Ms=6.1 occurred in northwestern Iran near the town of Ardabil. The shock caused a major damage and resulting about 1,000 deaths, despite its moderate size. Poor materials (mainly adobe block) used and poor construction method for building common dwellings in the region might have been a major cause of damage and deaths.
Feb. 28, 1997, Northwestern Iran Earthquake. The beach-ball, which indicates earthquake source mechanism, for this event suggests predominantly strike slip mechanism.
Earthquake source parameters
DATE
yr/mo/daTIME
hh:mm:secLAT.
(°N)LONG.
(°E)DEPTH
(km)MAGNITUDE
mb MsLOCATION 97/02/28 12:57:22.0 38.10 47.79 33.0 6.1 20 km West of Ardabil, Iran
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Won-Young Kim, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, copyright©1999, all rights reserved