Using GIS to identify hazardous earthquake locations in Iran

Abstract

The objective of all planning research is to plan for human comfort and safety, and one of the most significant natural dangers to which humans are exposed is earthquake risk; therefore, earthquake risks must be anticipated, and with the advancement of global technology, it is possible to obtain information on earthquake hazards. GIS has been utilized extensively in the field of environmental assessment research due to its high potential, and GIS is a crucial application in seismic risk assessment. This paper examines the methodologies used in recent GIS-based seismic risk studies, their primary environmental impacts on urban areas, and the complexity of the relationship between the applied methodological approaches and the resulting environmental risk assessments. Using spatial analysis techniques based on the history of spatial earthquakes, fault lines, and residential complexes. This article provides map which depict the most significant seismic danger zones in Iran. The analysis reveals that the area of very dangerous and earthquake-prone zone is equal to (12%) from the residential areas, it is concentrated in the western region, adjacent to Iraq and close to the tectonic plate. The dangerous areas are concentrated in the western side of Iran, extending from the north to the south (20%), which is a fairly large percentage. As for the critical area by earthquake-prone, they are concentrated in the northern regions (23%), The  medium critical areas are frequent in the centre and the north-east  in Iran, and it is the largest area (26%),  while the areas that less affected by the risk of an earthquake, are concentrated in the middle (17%), As for the areas that are not affected by the risk of earthquakes, (1%).