1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake


The 1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake occurred on June 21 at in northern Iran. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a Mercalli Intensity of X. Widespread damage occurred to the northwest of the capital city of Tehran, including the cities of Rudbar and Manjil. The National Geophysical Data Center estimated that $8 billion in damage occurred in the affected area. Other earthquake catalogs presented estimates of the loss of life in the range of 35,000–50,000, with a further 60,000–105,000 that were injured.

Use in media

Acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami has fictionally incorporated the earthquake and its effects on northern Iran into multiple films of his. In And Life Goes On, a director and his son search for child actors from a previous Kiarostami film; Where Is the Friend's Home?, which was shot in a city that, by the time of the second film's production, is recovering from the earthquake. Kiarostami's next film Through the Olive Trees follows a film crew as they shoot scenes from Life, and Nothing More...; in one of these scenes a man discusses his marriage having taken place a day after the earthquake. Critics and scholars often refer to these three films as the Koker trilogy, and rank them among the director's finest works.