The 2005 Qeshm earthquake occurred on November 27 at 13:52 IRST (10:22 UTC) on the sparsely populated Qeshm Island off Southern Iran, killing 13 people and devastating 13 villages. It was Iran's second major earthquake of 2005, following the one at Zarand in February. The epicenter was about south of Tehran, close to Iran's southern borders. Initial measurements showed that the earthquake registered about 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale, although that was reduced to 5.8 after further analysis. More than 400 minor aftershocks followed the main quake, 36 of which were greater than magnitude 2.5. The earthquake occurred in a remote area during the middle of the day, limiting the number of fatalities. Iranian relief efforts were effective and largely adequate, leading the country to decline offers of support from other nations and UNICEF. Qeshm Island is part of the Simply Folded Belt, the most seismically active part of the Zagros fold and thrust belt. Similar to most earthquakes in the area, the 2005 event resulted from reverse slip faulting. Since it lies in such a seismically active area, there is a high risk of destructive earthquakes in Iran; 1 in 3,000 deaths are attributable to earthquakes. One geophysicist has cited the lack of strict building codes as a serious concern. Background Iran experiences at least one minor earthquake per day on average, and the Zagros region is particularly prone to seismic activity. During the last 100 years, Iran has been hit by more than 130 events stronger than magnitude 5, with damaging earthquakes near Qeshm recorded in 1360, 1703, 1884, 1897, 1902, and 1905. The majority of Iranian quakes occur in the upper crust, close to the surface, which means that they are potentially more destructive. In terms of earthquake protection, Iran was named the "worst offender" in 2004 by Professor Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Bilham, a geophysicist who specializes in earthquake-related deformation and hazards, blames construction practices for many of the deaths in Iranian earthquakes. Since the start of the 20th century 1 in 3,000 Iranians have died in earthquake-related incidents. The United Nations' Common Country Assessment for Iran states that the greatest damage occurs in rural areas, for which no building code exists. Large cities have a building code that takes account of the seismic hazard, but it is not rigorously followed, despite the susceptibility of three quarters of Iranian major