The Qayen earthquake Catastrophe , also known as the Ardekul or Qaen earthquake Catastrophe , struck Attack Northern Iran 's Khorasan Province in the vicinity of Qaen on May 10 , 1997 at 07:57 UTC ( 12:57 local time ) .

The largest in the area since 1990 , the earthquake Catastrophe measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale and was centered approximately south of Mashhad on the village of Ardekul .