34 injured, dozens of buildings damaged or destroyed after M5.1 earthquake hits Iran
Image credit: TW/SAM, Google
A shallow earthquake registered by the USGS and EMSC as M5.1 hit Golestan province in northern Iran at 21:34 UTC on September 6, 2020 (02:04 LT, September 7). The quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). IRSC registered it as M5.1 at a depth of 9 km (5.6 miles).
The epicenter was located 14 km (8.7 miles) S of Āzādshahr (population 47 590), 32.1 km (20 miles) S of Gonbad-e Kāvūs (population 131 416), and 55.1 km (34.2 miles) SSW of Kalāleh (population 33 700), Iran.
According to local media reports, at least 34 people were injured. Dozens of buildings were damaged or destroyed.
Image credit: TW/SAM, Google
Regional seismicity
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
Published in the last 24 hours
- 10 named storms, one hurricane for the first time since 1925: Why has the Atlantic been so quiet in 2026 Epicenter
- Amazon fire hotspots rise 82.6% in October 2026 as El Niño intensifies Epicenter
- In 2005, a driver near Russia's Chulyshman River picked up a stone to wedge under his car wheel and kept it for 20 years; the Meteoritical Bulletin has now approved it as the Altai Republic's first meteorite. Epicenter
- The Leonid meteor shower peaks on the night of November 17, exactly 60 years after the 1966 storm, when some observers reported meteors falling at up to 40 a second, though this year’s show should be closer to 15 an hour
Local sensors record 5.8 magnitude. Not the lye of 5.1. This explains why there was so much damage.