List of costliest earthquakes

Last updated

This is a list of major earthquakes by the dollar value of property (public and private) losses directly attributable to the earthquake. Only earthquakes that have caused damage over US$1 billion, adjusted for inflation, are listed here. Wherever possible, indirect and socioeconomic losses are excluded. Damage estimates for particular earthquakes may vary over time as more data becomes available. Losses from earthquake–induced landslides and tsunamis are also be included.

Contents

Over $1 billion

EventLocationMagnitudeHistoric cost (year)Adjusted for inflation (year)
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Flag of Japan.svg Japan 9.0–9.1 Mw $360 billion (2011) [1] $513.4 billion (2025)
2008 Sichuan earthquake Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China (Sichuan) 7.9–8.3 Mw $130 billion (2008) [2] $191.8 billion (2025)
2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey
Flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1971), Flag of Syria (1980-2024).svg Syria
7.8 & 7.7 Mw $163.3 billion (2023) [3] [4] $170.2 billion (2025)
1994 Northridge earthquake Flag of the United States.svg United States (California) 6.7$40 billion (1994) [5] $85.7 billion (2025)
1980 Irpinia earthquake Flag of Italy.svg Italy 6.9$20 billion (1980) [6] $77.1 billion (2025)
1995 Great Hanshin earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 6.9$30–200 billion (1995) [7] [8] $62.5–416.9 billion (2025)
1976 Tangshan earthquake Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China (Hebei) 7.6$10 billion (1976) [9] $55.8 billion (2025)
2004 Chūetsu earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 6.6$28 billion (2004) [10] [11] $47.1 billion (2025)
1988 Armenian earthquake Flag of Armenia.svg Armenia 6.8$16.2 billion (1988) [6] $43.5 billion (2025)
2010 Canterbury & February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand 7.0 & 6.1–6.2 Mw $27.9 billion (2015) [12] $37.4 billion (2025)
2016 Kumamoto earthquakes Flag of Japan.svg Japan 7.0$24–46 billion (2016) [13] $31.8–60.9 billion (2025)
2011 Sikkim earthquake Flag of India.svg India 6.9$22.3 billion (2011) [14] $31.5 billion (2025)
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 9.2–9.3$15 billion (2004) [15] $25.2 billion (2025)
2009 L'Aquila earthquake Flag of Italy.svg Italy 6.3$16 billion (2009) [16] $23.7 billion (2025)
1972 Nicaragua earthquake Flag of Nicaragua.svg Nicaragua 6.3$2.9 billion (1972) [6] $22 billion (2025)
2012 Northern Italy earthquakes Flag of Italy.svg Italy 6.1 [17] $15.8 billion (2012) [6] $21.9 billion (2025)
2010 Chile earthquake Flag of Chile.svg Chile 8.8 [18] $15–30 billion (2010) [18] $21.8–43.7 billion (2025)
1939 Chillán earthquake Flag of Chile.svg Chile 8.3$920 million (1939) [6] $21 billion (2025)
1980 El Asnam earthquake Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria 7.3$5.2 billion (1980) [6] $20 billion (2025)
1976 Friuli earthquake Flag of Italy.svg Italy 6.5$3.6 billion (1976) [6] $20.1 billion (2025)
2007 Chūetsu offshore earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 6.6$12.5 billion (2007) [6] $19.1 billion (2025)
1999 Jiji earthquake Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan 7.7$10 billion (1999)$19.1 billion (2025)
1985 Mexico City earthquake Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico 8.0$5 billion (1985) [19] $14.8 billion (2025)
2020 Zagreb earthquake Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia 5.3$11.7 billion (2020) [20] $14.4 billion (2025)
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake Flag of the United States.svg United States (California) 6.9$5.6–6 billion (1989)$14.3–15.4 billion (2025)
1906 San Francisco earthquake Flag of the United States.svg United States (California) 7.7–7.9$400 million (1906) [21] $14 billion (2025)
2015 Nepal earthquake Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal 7.8–7.9$10 billion (2015) [22] $13.4 billion (2025)
2014 Ludian earthquake Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 6.1$9.9 billion (2014) [23] $13.3 billion (2025)
1948 Fukui earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 6.8$1 billion (1948) [6] $13.2 billion (2025)
1999 İzmit earthquake Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 7.6$6.5–20 billion (1999) [24] [10] $12.4–38.1 billion (2025)
1979 Montenegro earthquake Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro 6.9$2.7 billion (1979) [6] $11.8 billion (2025)
1976 Guatemala earthquake Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala 7.5$2.1 billion (1976) [6] $11.7 billion (2025)
2010 Haiti earthquake Flag of Haiti.svg Haiti 7.0$7.8–8.5 billion (2010) [25] $11.4–12.4 billion (2025)
2005 Kashmir earthquake Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan
Flag of India.svg India
7.6$6.6 billion (2005) [6] $10.7 billion (2025)
1923 Great Kantō earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 8.0$600 million (1923) [6] $11.1 billion (2025)
2025 Myanmar earthquake Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar
Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand
7.7–7.9$11 billion (2025) [26] $11 billion (2025)
1977 Vrancea earthquake Flag of Romania.svg Romania 7.5$2.1 billion (1977) [6] $11 billion (2025)
1960 Valdivia earthquake Flag of Chile.svg Chile 9.4–9.6$1 billion (1960) [6] $10.7 billion (2025)
2017 Puebla earthquake Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico 7.1$8 billion (2017) [6] $10.4 billion (2025)
1963 Skopje earthquake Flag of North Macedonia.svg North Macedonia 6.0$1 billion (1963) [6] $10.4 billion (2025)
2022 Fukushima earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 7.3$8.8 billion (2022) [10] $9.5 billion (2025)
2013 Lushan earthquake Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 6.6$6.8 billion (2013) [6] $9.3 billion (2025)
2021 Fukushima earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 7.1$7.7 billion (2021) [6] $9 billion (2025)
2018 Osaka earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 5.5$7 billion (2018) [6] $8.9 billion (2025)
2003 Boumerdès earthquake Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria 6.8$5 billion (2003) [6] $8.6 billion (2025)
1999 Athens earthquake Flag of Greece.svg Greece 6.0$4.2 billion (1999) [6] $8.1 billion (2025)
2017 Iran-Iraq earthquake Flag of Iran.svg Iran
Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq
7.4$6.2 billion (2017) [27] $8 billion (2025)
2023 Marrakesh–Safi earthquake Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco 6.9$7 billion (2023) [6] $7.3 billion (2025)
2024 Noto earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 7.5$6.9–17.6 billion (2024) [28] $7–17.8 billion (2025)
1989 Newcastle earthquake Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 5.4–5.6$2.6 billion (1989) [29] $6.8 billion (2025)
2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes Flag of the United States.svg United States (California) 7.1$5.3 billion (2019) [6] $6.6 billion (2025)
2016 Central Italy earthquake Flag of Italy.svg Italy 6.2$5 billion (2016) [6] $6.6 billion (2025)
1982 North Yemen earthquake Flag of Yemen.svg Yemen 6.3$2 billion (1982) [6] $6.6 billion (2025)
2020 Petrinja earthquake Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia 6.4$5 billion (2020) [30] $6.1 billion (2025)
1953 Concepción earthquake Flag of Chile.svg Chile 7.6$500 million (1953) [6] $5.9 billion (2025)
2017 Chiapas earthquake Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico 8.2$4 billion (2017) [6] $5.2 billion (2025)
2006 Yogyakarta earthquake Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 6.3$3.1 billion (2006) [6] $4.9 billion (2025)
1985 Algarrobo earthquake Flag of Chile.svg Chile 8.0$1.5 billion (1985) [6] $4.4 billion (2025)
2016 Ecuador earthquake Flag of Ecuador.svg Ecuador 7.8$3.3 billion (2016) [6] $4.4 billion (2025)
1970 Ancash earthquake Flag of Peru.svg Peru 7.9$530 million (1970) [6] $4.3 billion (2025)
1971 San Fernando earthquake Flag of the United States.svg United States (California) 6.6$530 million (1971) [31] $4.2 billion (2025)
2011 (June) Christchurch earthquake Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand 6.0$3 billion (2011) [6] $4.2 billion (2025)
1978 Miyagi earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 7.7$865 million (1978) [6] $4.2 billion (2025)
1964 Alaska earthquake Flag of the United States.svg United States (Alaska) 9.2$400 million (1964) [6] $4.1 billion (2025)
2001 Gujarat earthquake Flag of India.svg India 7.6$2.1 billion (2001) [32] $3.8 billion (2025)
2001 Nisqually earthquake Flag of the United States.svg United States (Washington) 6.8$2 billion (2001) [33] $3.6 billion (2025)
1981 Sirch earthquake Flag of Iran.svg Iran 7.1$1 billion (1981) [6] $3.5 billion (2025)
1992 Erzincan earthquake Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 6.7$1.5 billion (1992) [34] $3.5 billion (2025)
2003 Tokachi earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 8.3$1.9 billion (2003)$3.3 billion (2025) [35]
2009 Sumatra earthquakes Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 7.6$2.2 billion (2009) [6] $3.3 billion (2025)
1968 Belice earthquake Flag of Italy.svg Italy 6.1$320 million (1968) [6] $2.9 billion (2025)
1966 Tashkent earthquake Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Uzbekistan 5.2$300 million (1966) [6] $2.9 billion (2025)
1987 Ecuador earthquakes Flag of Ecuador.svg Ecuador 7.1$1 billion (1987) [36] $2.8 billion (2025)
1981 Gulf of Corinth earthquakes Flag of Greece.svg Greece 6.7$812 million (1981) [6] $2.8 billion (2025)
2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 6.6$2 billion (2018) [6] $2.5 billion (2025)
1983 Sea of Japan earthquake Flag of Japan.svg Japan 7.8$800 million (1983) [6] $2.5 billion (2025)
2022 Luding earthquake Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 6.7$2.2 billion (2022) [37] $2.5 billion (2025)
1972 Ancona earthquake Flag of Italy.svg Italy 4.9$300 million (1972) [6] $2.3 billion (2025)
2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 7.5–7.6$1.7 billion (2018) [38] $2.2 billion (2025)
2023 Jishishan earthquake Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 5.9$2 billion (2023) [6] $2.1 billion (2025)
2011 Van earthquakes Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 7.1$1.5 billion (2011) [6] $2.1 billion (2025)
1986 Vrancea earthquake Flag of Romania.svg Romania 7.2$730 million (1986) [6] $2.1 billion (2025)
1998 Adana–Ceyhan earthquake Turkey Turkey 6.3$1 billion (1998) [39] $2 billion (2025)
1915 Avezzano earthquake Flag of Italy.svg Italy 6.7$60 million (1915) [6] $1.9 billion (2025)
1971 Aconcagua earthquake Flag of Chile.svg Chile 7.8$236 million (1971) [6] $1.9 billion (2025)
1944 San Juan earthquake Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina 6.9$100 million (1944) [6] $1.8 billion (2025)
2021 Haiti earthquake Flag of Haiti.svg Haiti 7.2$1.5 billion (2021) [40] $1.8 billion (2025)
2016 Kaikōura earthquake Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand 7.8$1.3 billion (2016) [41] $1.6 billion (2023)
2019 Sichuan earthquake Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China (Sichuan) 5.8$1.3 billion (2019) [6] $1.6 billion (2025)
2010 Baja California earthquake Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico 7.2$1.1 billion (2010) [6] $1.6 billion (2025)
2012 Yiliang earthquakes Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 5.5$1 billion (2012) [6] $1.4 billion (2025)
2010 Kaohsiung earthquake Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan 6.3$1 billion (2010) [6] $1.5 billion (2025)
1983 Popayán earthquake Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia 5.5$410 million (1983) [6] $1.3 billion (2025)
1967 Caracas earthquake Flag of Venezuela.svg Venezuela 6.6$140 million (1967) [6] $1.3 billion (2025)
1965 Valparaíso earthquake Flag of Chile.svg Chile 7.4$125 million (1965) [6] $1.3 billion (2025)
1960 Agadir earthquake Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco 5.9$120 million (1960) [6] $1.3 billion (2025)
2019 Albania earthquake Flag of Albania.svg Albania 6.4$1 billion (2019) [6] $1.2 billion (2025)
1978 Thessaloniki earthquake Flag of Greece.svg Greece 6.4$250 million (1978) [6] $1.2 billion (2025)
1953 Ionian earthquake Flag of Greece.svg Greece 6.8$100 million (1953) [6] $1.2 billion (2025)
2003 Miyagi earthquakes Flag of Japan.svg Japan 7.0 & 6.0 Mw $644 million (2003) [6] $1.1 billion (2025)
1976 Bali earthquake Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 6.5$195 million (1976) [6] $1.1 billion (2025)

See also

References

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