On 12 November 2017 at 18:18 UTC (21:48 Iran Standard Time, 21:18 Arabia Standard Time), an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.3 occurred on the Iran–Iraq border, with the Iraqi Kurdish city of Halabja, and the Kurdish dominated places of Ezgeleh, Salas-e Babajani County, Kermanshah Province in Iran, closest to the epicentre,  south of the city of Halabja, Iraqi Kurdistan.

It was felt as far away as Israel and the United Arab Emirates. With at least 630 people killed (mostly in Iraq's Kurdish Halabja area and the Iranian Kurdish dominated province of Kermanshah), and more than 8,100 injured, as well as many more unaccounted for, it was the deadliest earthquake of 2017.

Tectonic setting
The earthquake was located within the Zagros fold and thrust belt, part of the broad and complex zone of continental collision between the Arabian and Eurasian Plates. At this location, the relative convergence of the plates is about 26 mm per year. The convergence is quite oblique to the Zagros belt, although it is partitioned into orthogonal dip-slip motion within the active thrust belt and dextral (right lateral) strike-slip motion along the Main Recent Fault to the northeast of the Zagros Mountains.

Earthquake

 

The earthquake occurred near the Iran–Iraq border, approximately  northeast of Baghdad. According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale and was caused by movement on a thrust fault dipping at a shallow angle to the northeast. The epicentre was at a depth of , and the maximum perceived intensity was IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale.

This was the strongest earthquake recorded in the region since a 6.1 Mw event in January 1967. The earthquake was felt throughout the Middle East and as far away as Israel, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey.

Aftershocks

The Iranian seismological centre registered at least 50 aftershocks within a few hours of the earthquake, with a total of 242 earthquakes. These aftershocks killed at least four and injured at least 1,488 others.

Aftermath

Casualties and damage
The province of Kermanshah was the most affected area along with the cities of Halabja, Iraq and Sarpol-e Zahab being the hardest-hit. Ezgeleh was the nearest city to the epicentre of the earthquake. More than half of the Iranian casualties were from Sarpol-e-Zahab and the Ezgeleh District, which have a combined population of over 30,000. Officials announced that schools in Kermanshah and Ilam provinces would be closed following the quake.

630 people died. More than 7,000 others were injured. In Sarpol-e Zahab, the hospital was damaged and at least 142 people were killed, many who had lived in social housing complexes built by former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. At least seven people were killed and another 500 injured in neighbouring Iraq, according to officials in Iraqi Kurdistan. Further damages were seen as possible due to the threat of landslides induced by the shallow depth of the earthquake.

The earthquake left about 70,000 people homeless across 14 Iranian provinces, destroying approximately 12,000 homes and damaging another 15,000. Relief camps in Iran distributed 22,000 tents and 52,000 blankets in the days after the earthquake. On 17 November, the Iranian government announced that the disaster has caused at least €5 billion of damage.

In Sarpol-e Zahab, some residents blamed the widespread destruction on poor construction quality and government corruption. It was noted that older buildings remained standing, while many newer blocks collapsed.

Aid 

Turkey was the first country to offer aid, through its Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, announcing that 92 rescue personnel were on standby, together with 4,000 tents and 7,000 blankets.

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said the bloc was ready to cooperate with Iran in providing emergency relief aid, and Italy's government issued orders to send 12 tonnes of tents, blankets and mobile kitchens on 13 November.

The International Committee of the Red Cross had arrived by 13 November. Sunni charities, such as the Iranian Call and Reform Organisation, were providing tents and water. Rescue dogs were also used by the Iranian Red Crescent in order to search for survivors.

The South Korean actress Lee Young-ae donated $45,000 to the Embassy of Iran in Seoul to help the victims of the earthquake.

On 14 November, Iranian minister of foreign affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his gratitude for all the sympathy and offers of assistance Iran has received but declared that his country can manage the situation with its own resources for the time being.

It was also reported that the Iranian Officials were visiting various affected places to provide assistance, according to CNN.

See also

 List of earthquakes in 2017
 List of earthquakes in Iran

References

External links
 USGS summary of earthquake.
 Institute of Geophysics, University of  Tehran's updated report of earthquake. (in Persian)
 
 

2017 earthquakes
2017 in Iran 
2017 in Iraq
2017 disasters in Iran 
2017 disasters in Iraq
Earthquakes in Iran
Earthquakes in Asia
Natural disasters in Iraq
November 2017 events in Asia
November 2017 events in Iraq
November 2017 events in Iran
Buried rupture earthquakes