Kashan Earthquake of 15 December 1778, Ms6.1
Kashan Earthquake of 15 December 1778, Ms6.1
An earthquake of magnitude Ms=6.1 occurred in the western side of desert in Iran on Dec. 15, 1778, at 6:00:00 GMT. The earthquake was strongly felt in Ray, Qom and Isfahan cities and the epicentral intensity was estimated to be I0=VIII. The event claimed about 8000 lives in the city of Kashan and destroyed almost all the houses, main buildings and castles in the city. Heavy damages were distributed in a wide area from Sansan village to Qohrood village located in the north and south of Kashan, respectively. Due to this event, water supply of the epicentral region was damaged and Cholera disease was spread. Daily aftershocks of the earthquake continued for a month. The earthquake of 1778 in Kashan destroyed the towers and ramparts of Jalali castle, but by the order of Karim Khan the castle was repaired again by the governor of Kashan, Abdolrazzagh Khan and two gates were added to the five gates of the castle. There are no evidences which confirm any damages to the historical structures such as the Jameh mosque and Zayn-al-Din Minaret of Kashan.
The most important worldwide earthquakes (M>7) of this day
| Date | Time | Y | X | Depth | Mw | Region | Refrence |
| 1934/12/15 | 1:57:42 | 31.25 | 89.162 | 15 | 7.2 | western Xizang | USGS |
| 1963/12/15 | 19:34:47 | -4.813 | 108.045 | 661.5 | 7 | Java Sea | USGS |
| 1989/12/15 | 18:43:45 | 8.337 | 126.729 | 24.4 | 7.6 | Mindanao, Philippines | USGS |