Sirch Earthquake of 28 July 1981, Mw.7.0
The Sirch earthquake (mb=5.7, Ms=7.1) occurred at 17:22 GMT (20:52 local time) and is the largest earthquake on the Gowk Fault System since at least 1877. It ranks among the largest shocks recorded in the Kerman province of SE Iran since the advent of instrumental seismology. Official estimates of the death toll vary between 846 and 1300. Twenty-five villages were completely destroyed and several more severely damage. The faulting during the Sirch earthquake was complex, and associated with 65 km of discontinuous surface ruptures on both east- and west-dipping faults of the Gowk Fault System north of Zamanabad. Displacement on the surface breaks was commonly distributed over a series of en echelon or parallel faults rather than concentrated on a single fracture. The maximum displacements were observed in the north near Chahar Farsakh, where 43 cm of right lateral slip and 40cm of uplift caused by reverse motion were recorded.
