Al-Monitor l Zahra Alipour: Is an earthquake likely to occur in Tehran?�What will happen if there is an earthquake in Tehran? These questions have recently been discussed in Iranian media and among the public in the�aftermath of the earthquake�in the west of the country in November. In response to these questions, Iranian experts and officials warn that a possible future earthquake in Tehran would bring much death and destruction.


On Nov. 14, Tehran City Council Chairman Mohsen Hashemi stated at a council meeting�that the Iranian capital is�expecting a massive earthquake�in the near future, adding, �According to the experts, Tehran experiences an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 every 150 years. Currently, it has been 35 years since the last due date for another earthquake.�

Of note, the capital was as recently as Dec. 20 rocked by a 5.2 magnitude quake with its epicenter in the nearby city of Karaj. According to a recent study carried out by the Seismology and Engineering Risk Department at the Research Center of the Ministry of Transportation, Housing�and Urban Development, if an earthquake does strike Tehran, anywhere between 200,000 and 300,000 buildings will be destroyed and more than 1 million people will lose their lives. Tehran currently has a population of�more than 13 million.

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