In the last four decades Iran faced three major damaging earthquakes which revealed the implications
of current design and construction practices on rural buildings. These major events and many smaller
other natural disasters have shown the vulnerability of rural buildings. The present paper is based on
field observations made after these events and brings out some of the diverse factors whose combined
effect determines the degree of damage in a structure. Site and topography effects, construction
materials, design and construction practices, and structural and architectural factors are the main
factors discussed in this paper. To minimize losses due to natural disasters and to achieve sustainable
developments in rural areas, it has been concluded that a new policy need to be specified. According
to this policy, the design and construction of rural buildings must be based on local conditions, local
building materials, and local expertise.