July 29, 2022
The two earthquakes were both in Hormuzgan province on the Persian Gulf coast. They were seven days and 160 kilometers (100 miles) apart.
The first quake rumbled across the Kish Island resort June 25. Measured at 5.6-magnitude, it killed one man and injured 31.
A local official said most of the injured received outpatient treatment.
The official added that four of those injured fell from high places when the quake hit the island.
The person who died was a 21-year-old man.
The next quake struck July 2 to the east near Bandar Khamir, on the mainland right across from Qeshm Island. That quake killed seven people and injured 84, with 29 of those hospitalized.
The event was actually a triple quake. The first measured 6.1 and struck at 2:02 a.m. Two further quakes measuring 6.3 hit about two hours later. The deaths and most injuries occurred during the first shake when most people were in bed, the most dangerous time for quakes. Most of the public was up and outside when the two massive aftershocks occurred.
The village of Sayeh Khosh suffered the most damage, according to Hormuzgan governor general Mehdi Dosti.
The last earthquake in Iran to cause any fatalities also hit Hormuzgan province. That was last November 14 when a 6,3 quake killed two.
The last quake to produce a death toll of more than single digits was almost five years ago when a 7.3 quake in Kermanshah province killed 620 on November 12, 2017.
Since the deadly Bam earthquake of December 2003 that killed an estimated 27,000 people, Iran has suffered from 30 quakes that have caused fatalities, or roughly two each year. But in all but eight, the number of fatalities was in single digits and in only three was the death toll above 100—in 2005 In Zarand, 2012 in East Azerbaijan and 2017 in Kermanshah.
