How long did the Bam Earthquake last?
It appears that the strong motion of the Bam earthquake only lasted about 8 seconds. That’s not surprising for a magnitude 6.6 earthquake. A pdf file of a preliminary report is at the link below. The extensive damage appears to be related to three factors: 1) a direct hit by the earthquake under the city. 2) poor soils that amplified the waves. 3) building materials and construction methods weren’t earthquake resistant. It was a terrible loss of life for that magnitude earthquake.
