The earthquake that hit Northern Iran on Thursday was similar to the one that struck Armenia last December . `Most casualties from earthquakes are caused by something falling on top of you,'' said Needham in a telephone interview from Golden, Thursday 's quake measured 7.7 on the Richter Scale ; the earthquake in Armenia measured 7 . Shoddily construction was cited as the major factor in the 25,000 deaths in Armenia . Most of the victims in Thursday 's quake also lived in fragile homes , and the death toll could surpass the Armenian disaster because the people were inside and asleep . Iran is a very active seismic area . Twelve quakes of a magnitude greater than seven have struck Iran in the last 30 years .
The earthquake that hit Northern Iran on Thursday was similar to the one that struck Armenia last December . Thursday 's quake measured 7.7 on the Richter Scale ; the earthquake in Armenia measured 7 . Shoddily construction was cited as the major factor in the 25,000 deaths in Armenia . Most of the victims in Thursday 's quake also lived in fragile homes , and the death toll could surpass the Armenian disaster because the people were inside and asleep . Iran is a very active seismic area . Twelve quakes of a magnitude greater than seven have struck Iran in the last 30 years .