It caused approximately 200,000 deaths and is listed by the United States Geological Survey as the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history.

[4] The epicentral area is located in the Alborz mountain range, in which oblique north–south shortening is accommodated by a combination of thrusting and sinistral (left-lateral) strike-slip faulting.

[5] The main active structure in the Qumis region is the Shahrud fault system, which extends for several hundred kilometres.

The earthquake badly affected water supplies in the Qumis area, partly due to springs and qanats drying up, but also because of landslides damming streams.

[6] From the results of trenching at a single site along the Astaneh Fault, a repeat period of about 3,700 years has been estimated and no large earthquakes have been recorded in the Damghan area since 856.