The 2008 Qeshm earthquake occurred on 10 September in the Hormozgān Province of southern Iran, 850 kilometres (528 mi) south of Tehran.

Causing both catastrophic and minor damage, the earthquake devastated up to 200 villages throughout southern Iran, but left the port city of Bandar Abbas almost unscathed.

[2] Part of this convergence is accommodated by shortening within the Zagros fold and thrust belt, with the remainder occurring to the north of the Iranian Plateau.

[1] The sedimentary rocks above the salt layer comprise a basal Cambrian conglomerate and a thick sequence of limestones of Palaeozoic to Upper Cretaceous age, known together as the 'Competent Group' due to their relatively high competence, followed by a sequence of mechanically weaker marls and interbedded limestones of latest Cretaceous to Lower Miocene age topped by Neogene sandstones and conglomerates.

[3] Earthquake focal mechanisms and hypocentral depths show that shortening is accommodated by a mixture of high-angle and low-angle reverse faulting, within either the lowest part of the sedimentary cover or in the basement beneath the Hormuz salt.

The sediments are affected by a series of large, mainly anticlinal folds that show a variety of trends in the central part of the island.

A simple fault plane model with a width of 12.8 km dipping to the southeast makes a reasonable match with the observed uplift pattern.

Mercalli ratings of IV (Light) were assigned to Ajman and Ra's al Khaymah, and intensity III (Weak) occurred in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah.

If the population of Iran had a choice between spending oil revenues on munitions or houses that won't kill them, I suspect they would choose a safe home.

"[16] The United Nations developed a Common Country Assessment for Iran, stating, "While adequate building regulations exist for large cities, it is generally believed that they are not rigorously adhered to... most of those who have suffered in recent major earthquakes have lived in small towns and villages.