Safety is possibly the very first think you think about as soon as you receive a proposal to expatriate to Iran. Earthquakes are amongst greatest risksfacing Iran. This is because the country sits on the tectonic intersection of four major continents: Eurasia, India, Africa, Arabia.

Each year, scientific instruments detect 500,000 quakes around the world. In fact, thousands of quakes occur every day in some part of the globe, however most of them are too weak to be felt. On average a magnitude 8 quake happens every year somewhere on earth.

In Iran, earthquakes happen regularly:

In the capital city of Tehran, where most of the expatriates live, the last big earthquake occurred in 1830 carrying a magnitude 7.2.

With the threat of Earthquake always round the corner, precautions must be taken:

1. When you registering with your consulate, you will be given the name of the person who coordinates expats if something happens. Make sure you register the name, the phone number in your mobile, you note the phone number somewhere easily accessible in the house, and introduce yourself to this person as soon as possible.
2. Please note that all international schools have different tests during the year to prepare the kids on what to do. At school, your kids are safe.
3. Be prepared at home: identify how to cut off the gas from the mains, and switch off the electricity and water, and prepare 72hour kits.
4. Talk with your kids at home, assign each family with a task to be prepared in the event of an earthquake.
5. Follow a safety class to understand the risks, and to know which steps ad actions to take.

In 2016 the Guardian newspaper ranked Tehran 10^th in terms of cities in the world at greatest risk of experiencing an Earthquake, so be prepared!!!