Tehran, the capital city of Iran is located in the foothills of the Alborz Mountains, has at least five or six significant fault lines, and experts believe that the city is long overdue for a major earthquake. Rapid urban growth, including growth caused by displacement of rural populations due to drought, together with inadequately regulated building and urban development, are factors which lead to the accumulation of earthquake disaster risk. There is thus a growing probability of future earthquake mega-disasters in the major metropolitan areas of the country, with a corresponding risk of major loss of human life, physical and economic damage.