Vulnerability Assessment Caused by the Earthquake in Tehran and Surrounding Area

Vulnerability assessment caused by earthquake is necessary in Tehran and its surrounding because of its situation on the faults and also non-observance the earthquake engineering in construction. The objective of this study is to assess the vulnerability caused earthquake in Tehran and its surroundings.
Vulnerability index such as magnitude of earthquake, distance from the faults, land usage, urban population density, rural population density, roads density, elevation and slope based on fuzzy model were used and the vulnerability zonation map caused by earthquake for Tehran and its surroundings was achieved.
Findings: The results showed that about 20%, 64.18% and 29.61%, respectively, of areas are situated in very high and high, medium, low and very low vulnerable zones. The high vulnerability areas are situated in the mountainous and foothill areas and beside the active faults. These vulnerable areas are also situated where large and destructive earthquakes happened through times. Therefore, there is a risk of more damages in case of reoccurrence of 6 Richter and more earthquakes.
Considering the high of this area, it is suggested to prevent urban development and non-observance constructions in mountainous and foothill zones as well as reconstructions considering social, economic and cultural views. The managers and urban planner may use vulnerability zonation map to prevent or decrease vulnerability caused by earthquake.