Living with Earthquakes - Earthquake Engineering for Structural Design - page 60

areas situated 300 to 500 km Southeast far from the original epicenter, which was
caused by landslides and rock falls. The reduced number of fatalities in relation
with the high magnitude is due to the large distance of the epicenter from the
major population centers.
The 2003 Iran Bam earthquake (Fig. 2.17) (Wikipedia, nd) destroyed the
ancient citadel of Bam, dating back around 2500 years (during the Persian period),
and considered the biggest adobe construction of the world. The city benefited
from tourism, with an increasing number of people visiting the ancient citadel. The
earthquake destroyed 70% of the city, the Bam citadel was leveled to the ground,
producing a very large number of fatalities due to the collapse of old buildings.
This earthquake was responsible for the irreparable destruction of one of the main
important monumental cities in the world.
Interplate
subduction
fault
(a)
Figure 2.17 (continues)