Seismic Event Dossier•05:26 Local (01:56 UTC)(22y ago)

M 6.6 earthquake
Bam, Kerman, Iran

A magnitude 6.6 (MW) earthquake occurred on 2003-12-26, 05:26 local time (01:56 UTC) (22y ago), centered Near Bam (Iran). The hypocenter was located at a shallow depth of 10 km. Primary telemetry verified by USGS/ISC-GEM.

Historical Landmark Earthquake

#99 of All Time

Curated Global Seismic Archive (1700–Present)

Top-100 Earthquakes

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck ⁨Bam, Kerman, Iran⁩ on 26 ديسمبر 2003. Source: ⁨Bam Blind Strike-Slip Fault⁩. Documented deaths: 31,000.

Documented Fatalities31,000Source: NOAA NCEI Significant Earthquake Database

Fault KinematicsStrike-Slip

Equivalent Energy119.8 kt TNT

القدر

M 6.6

119.8 kt TNT

العمق

10 km

shallow (قشري ضحل)

أثر PAGER

red

34,000 fatalities

الإصابات المقدرة: > 5,000 · ~28.7M محسوس

خريطة تفاعلية للبؤرة السطحية والصدوع

29.00°N, 58.34°E

فالق5 km

Bam Blind Strike-Slip Fault

Strike-Slip · ~15.0 mm/yr

Felt byMMI III+

~28.7M exposed

~1.1M strong shaking

Primary SolutionUSGS/ISC-GEM

USGS/ISC-GEM#official20031226015652_30reviewed

1 agencies reporting

Setting29.0°N

Iran

Continental / Inland crustal

Seismic Activity & Aftershock Sequence

Timeline of foreshocks, main rupture, aftershocks and machine learning risk probability evolution.

Hover or tap a point to inspect aftershocks and risk probability curve.

<35 كم (ضحل)35–70 كم (متوسط العمق)>70 كم (عميق)الهزة الرئيسية

Situation Monitoring

Continuous verification

Multi-agency verification of casualties, tsunami alerts, and seismic sequence

Key facts so far

Casualties

Damage assessment in progress

Tsunami Status

No tsunami threat

NOAA PTWC & regional buoys

Citizen Felt Reports

No felt reports submitted

Macroseismic DYFI verification

Aftershock Sequence

Monitoring

Aftershocks expected (Omori law)

LightGBM hazard model forecast

Multi-agency seismic telemetry active. Awaiting wire headlines.

Agency Discrepancy Matrix (Cross-Network Verification)

Comparing multi-network solutions from primary and teleseismic monitoring agencies.

Network / Source	Magnitude (Scale & Diff)	Depth & Diff	Epicenter & Shift (Δd)	Consensus	Event ID / Data
USGS United States Geological Survey · Global / US	M6.6(Mw)Ref	10.0 kmRef	29.00°, 58.34°Origin	Authoritative	official20031226015652_30

Why do agency magnitudes differ? Seismological agencies use different instrumentation networks, crustal velocity models, and mathematical magnitude scales (e.g. Moment Magnitude Mw vs Local Richter ML vs Surface Wave Ms). Differences of 0.1–0.3 are common and reflect physical observation geometry rather than errors.

Where it was felt

5 تجمعات سكانية

Shaking intensity is modelled from magnitude, depth and distance (GMPE attenuation), not reported by residents.

Town	Distance	Intensity	عدد السكان
Bam · Kerman	12 km	MMI IX	99,268
Kerman · Kerman	189 km	MMI V	577,514
Zahedan · Sistan and Baluchestan	248 km	MMI V	598,887
Sirjan · Kerman	259 km	MMI IV	175,000
Bandar-e-Abbas · Hormozgan	285 km	MMI IV	461,499

Tectonic setting

Nearest mapped active fault: Bam Blind Strike-Slip Fault, 5 km away, slip rate ~15.0 mm/yr (GEM Global Active Faults).

M 6.6 earthquake Bam, Kerman, Iran