350-Hectare University Built on One of Tehran’s Most Dangerous Faults

The head of the earthquake division at the Road, Housing and Urban Development Research Center says that the Science and Research Unit of Azad University, situated on land spanning 350 hectares and housing approximately 45,000 students, professors and other staff, is located on the North Tehran Fault.

This government official states that when this university unit began operations in 1984 with 250 students, the law prohibiting construction in fault zones had not yet been issued.

However, over the past years, the campus has continued to expand over the North Fault, and is set to soon accommodate 50,000 students.

Ali Beytollahi told ISNA news agency, “We have approved and issued fault zone boundaries for several major cities such as Tehran, Tabriz and Kerman, meaning these resolutions are binding under law”.

Mr. Beytollahi says the Science and Research Unit of Azad University is entirely located on the fault: “I strongly recommend that [Azad University authorities] consider necessary measures to reduce risk, because the area on which the university building is built is a disaster-prone zone”.

The North Tehran Fault is the capital’s largest fault, located south of the foothills of the Alborz mountain range.

Source: Radio Farda