Lists of 21st-century earthquakes

Earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 and greater from 1900 to 2018. The apparent 3D volumes of the bubbles are linearly proportional to their respective fatalities.

The following is a summary of significant earthquakes during the 21st century. In terms of fatalities, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was the most destructive event with 227,898 confirmed fatalities, followed by the 2010 Haiti earthquake with about 160,000 fatalities, ^[2] the 2008 Sichuan earthquake with 87,587 fatalities, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake suffered by Pakistan with 87,351 fatalities, and the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes with 62,013 fatalities.

The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami became the costliest natural disaster, resulting in approximately $360 billion in property damage at the time, followed by the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which resulted in $163.6 billion and $150 billion in damage, respectively.

List of deadliest earthquakes

The following are with more than 1,000 deaths earthquakes of the 21st century so far.

Fatalities	Magnitude	Location	Event	Date
227,898	9.2–9.3	Indonesia Indian Ocean	2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami	December 26, 2004
160,000 [3]	7.0	Haiti	2010 Haiti earthquake	January 12, 2010
87,587	7.9	China	2008 Sichuan earthquake	May 12, 2008
87,351	7.6	Pakistan India	2005 Kashmir earthquake	October 8, 2005
62,013	7.8	Turkey Syria	2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes	February 6, 2023
34,000	6.6	Iran	2003 Bam earthquake	December 26, 2003
20,085	7.7	India	2001 Gujarat earthquake	January 26, 2001
19,759	9.0–9.1	Japan	2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami	March 11, 2011
8,964	7.8–7.9	Nepal	2015 Nepal earthquake	April 25, 2015
5,756	6.4	Indonesia	2006 Yogyakarta earthquake	May 26, 2006
5,456	7.7–7.9	Myanmar Thailand	2025 Myanmar earthquake	March 28, 2025
4,340	7.5–7.6	Indonesia	2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami	September 28, 2018
2,960	6.9	Morocco	2023 Al Haouz earthquake	September 8, 2023
2,698	6.9	China	2010 Yushu earthquake	April 13, 2010
2,266	6.8	Algeria	2003 Boumerdès earthquake	May 21, 2003
2,248	7.2	Haiti	2021 Haiti earthquake	August 14, 2021
2,000	6.1	Afghanistan	2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes	March 25, 2002
1,482	6.3	Afghanistan	2023 Herat earthquakes	October 7, 2023
1,423	6.0	Afghanistan	2025 Afghanistan earthquake	August 31, 2025
1,313	8.6	Indonesia	2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake	March 28, 2005
1,163	6.2	Afghanistan Pakistan	June 2022 Afghanistan earthquake	June 21, 2022
1,115 [4]	7.6	Indonesia	2009 Sumatra earthquakes	September 30, 2009

List of largest earthquakes by magnitude

Rank	Magnitude [5]	Event	Location	Date
1	9.2–9.3	2004 Indian Ocean earthquake	Indonesia, Sumatra, Indian Ocean	December 26, 2004
2	9.0–9.1	2011 Tōhoku earthquake	Japan, Tōhoku, Pacific Ocean	March 11, 2011
3	8.8	2010 Chile earthquake	Chile, Maule	February 27, 2010
	8.8	2025 Kamchatka earthquake	Russia, Kamchatka	July 30, 2025
5	8.6	2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake	Indonesia, Sumatra	March 28, 2005
	8.6	2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes	Indonesia, Indian Ocean	April 11, 2012
7	8.5	2007 Bengkulu earthquakes	Indonesia, Sumatra	September 12, 2007

• Note: At least 8.5+ magnitude

List of costliest earthquakes

Main article: List of costliest earthquakes

Note:This only ranks immediate costs, for example, nuclear meltdown and climate and fossil fuel costs, as well as other ongoing costs from quakes are not included.

Rank	Event	Location	Magnitude	Historic cost (year)	Adjusted for inflation (year)
1	2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami	Japan	9.0–9.1 Mw	$360 billion (2013) [6]	$490.9 billion (2025)
2	2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes	Turkey, Syria	7.8 & 7.7 Mw	$163.3 billion (2023) [7] [8]	$170.2 billion (2025)
3	2008 Sichuan earthquake	China	7.9–8.3 Mw	$130 billion (2008) [9]	$191.8 billion (2025)
4	2004 Chūetsu earthquake	Japan	6.6	$28 billion (2004) [10] [11]	$47.1 billion (2025)
5	2010 Canterbury earthquake & 2011 Christchurch earthquake	New Zealand	7.0 & 6.2	$27.9 billion (2015) [12]	$37.4 billion (2025)
6	2016 Kumamoto earthquakes	Japan	7.0	$24–46 billion (2016) [13]	$31.8-60.9 billion (2024)
7	2011 Sikkim earthquake	India	6.9	$22.3 billion (2011) [14]	$31.5 billion (2025)
8	2009 L'Aquila earthquake	Italy	6.3	$16 billion (2009) [15]	$23.7 billion (2025)
9	2012 Northern Italy earthquakes	Italy	6.1 [16]	$15.8 billion (2012) [17]	$21.9 billion (2025)
10	2010 Chile earthquake	Chile	8.8	$15–30 billion (2010) [18]	$21.8–43.7 billion (2025)

Deadliest earthquakes by year

These are the deadliest earthquakes per year

Year	Deadliest earthquake	Fatalities	Magnitude	Location	Date
2001	2001 Gujarat earthquake	20,085	7.7	India	January 26
2002	2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes	1,200	6.1	Afghanistan	March 25
2003	2003 Bam earthquake	34,000	6.6	Iran	December 26
2004	2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami	227,898	9.2–9.3	Indonesia, Indian Ocean	December 26
2005	2005 Kashmir earthquake	87,351	7.6	Pakistan	October 8
2006	2006 Yogyakarta earthquake	5,782	6.4	Indonesia	May 26
2007	2007 Peru earthquake	595	8.0	Peru	August 15
2008	2008 Sichuan earthquake	87,587	7.9	China	May 12
2009	2009 Sumatra earthquakes	1,115	7.6	Indonesia	September 30
2010	2010 Haiti earthquake	160,000	7.0	Haiti	January 12
2011	2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami	19,759	9.0–9.1	Japan	March 11
2012	2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes	306	6.4	Iran	August 11
2013	2013 Balochistan earthquakes	825	7.7	Pakistan	September 24
2014	2014 Ludian earthquake	615	6.1	China	August 3
2015	2015 Nepal earthquake	8,964	7.8	Nepal	April 25
2016	2016 Ecuador earthquake	673	7.8	Ecuador	April 16
2017	2017 Iran–Iraq earthquake	630	7.3	Iran	November 12
2018	2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami	4,340	7.5	Indonesia	September 28
2019	2019 Albania earthquake	51	6.4	Albania	November 26
2020	2020 Aegean Sea earthquake	119	7.0	Turkey Greece	October 30
2021	2021 Haiti earthquake	2,248	7.2	Haiti	August 14
2022	June 2022 Afghanistan earthquake	1,163	6.2	Afghanistan Pakistan	June 21
2023	2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes	62,013	7.8	Turkey Syria	February 6
2024	2024 Noto earthquake	645	7.5	Japan	January 1
2025	2025 Myanmar earthquake	5,456	7.7	Myanmar Thailand	March 28

Largest earthquakes by year

These are the largest earthquakes by magnitude per year ^[5]

Year	Magnitude	Deaths	Event	Location	Date	total M7+
2001	8.4	145	2001 southern Peru earthquake	Peru	June 23	16
2002	7.9	0	2002 Denali earthquake	United States	November 3	13
2003	8.3	0	2003 Tokachi earthquake	Japan	September 25	15
2004	9.2–9.3	227,898	2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami	Indonesia, Indian Ocean	December 26	16
2005	8.6	1,313	2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake	Indonesia	March 28	11
2006	8.3	0	2006 Kuril Islands earthquake	Russia	November 15	11
2007	8.5	23	2007 Bengkulu earthquakes	Indonesia	September 12	18
2008	7.9	87,587	2008 Sichuan earthquake	China	May 12	12
2009	8.1	192	2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami	Samoa	September 29	17
2010	8.8	525	2010 Chile earthquake	Chile	February 27	22
2011	9.0–9.1	19,759	2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami	Japan	March 11	20
2012	8.6	10	2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes	Indonesia, Indian Ocean	April 11	17
2013	8.3	0	2013 Okhotsk Sea earthquake	Russia	May 24	19
2014	8.2	6	2014 Iquique earthquake	Chile	April 1	12
2015	8.3	14	2015 Illapel earthquake	Chile	September 16	19
2016	7.9	0	2016 Solomon Islands earthquakes	Solomon Islands	December 17	16
2017	8.2	98	2017 Chiapas earthquake	Mexico	September 8	7
2018	8.2	0	2018 Fiji earthquakes	Fiji	August 19	17
2019	8.0	2	2019 Peru earthquake	Peru	May 26	10
2020	7.8	0	July 2020 Alaska Peninsula earthquake	United States	July 22	9
2021	8.2	0	2021 Chignik earthquake	United States	July 29	19
2022	7.6	2	2022 Michoacán earthquake	Mexico	September 19	11
		21	2022 Papua New Guinea earthquake	Papua New Guinea	September 10
2023	7.8	62,013	2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes	Turkey Syria	February 6	19
2024	7.5	645	2024 Noto earthquake	Japan	January 1	10
2025	8.8	1	2025 Kamchatka earthquake	Russia	July 29	10

Lists of earthquakes by decade

• List of earthquakes 2001–2010
• List of earthquakes 2011–2020
• List of earthquakes 2021–present

Gallery

• 21st-century earthquakes gallery
• 
  The 2001 Gujarat earthquake occurred in a part of India with relatively low seismicity, devastating the cities of Anjar and Bhuj.
• 
  The 2003 Bam earthquake destroyed several historic landmarks, including a citadel.
• 
  The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent history.
• 
  The 2005 Kashmir earthquake destroyed several towns, and caused extensive damage and landslides as far as the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
• 
  The 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake was a fairly moderate event, but caused widespread damage across eastern Java.
• 
  The 2007 Peru earthquake caused severe damage in the city of Pisco, and was the deadliest in the country since 1970.
• 
  The 2008 Sichuan earthquake was the costliest earthquake in Chinese history, with over $150 billion USD.
• 
  The 2009 Sumatra earthquake caused destruction, fires and liquefaction in the city of Padang.
• 
  The 2010 Haiti earthquake was the most destructive compared to its magnitude, due to poorly constructed buildings and the earthquake's proximity to the capital Port-au-Prince.
• 
  The 2010 Chile earthquake was the most significant earthquake to impact this country since the 1960 Valdivia earthquake and triggered a tsunami which devastated several coastal towns in south-central Chile.
• 
  The 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a shallow event and very close to the city, resulting in extensive damage to population centers.
• 
  The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, resulting in the costliest natural disaster of all time.
• 
  The 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes severely affected 150 villages and killed hundreds of people.
• 
  The 2015 Nepal earthquake caused extensive damage in Kathmandu and triggered the deadliest avalanche on Mount Everest.
• 
  The 2018 Sulawesi earthquake caused major liquefaction in villages around the city of Palu.
• 
  The 2021 Haiti earthquake was the country's largest earthquake in its modern history.
• 
  The June 2022 Afghanistan earthquake caused severe destruction and many villages were destroyed.
• 
  The 2022 West Java earthquake killed hundreds and destroyed tens of thousands of houses, despite its moderate magnitude.
• 
  The 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes were among Turkey's strongest. It also killed thousands in Syria.
• 
  The 2023 Al Haouz earthquake was one of the deadliest and the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in modern-day Morocco.
• 
  The 2024 Noto earthquake was Japan's deadliest since 2011, with the towns of Suzu and Wajima largely destroyed.
• 
  The 2025 Myanmar earthquake caused extensive destruction in the country's largest cities, and collapsed a skyscraper in Bangkok, Thailand.

See also

• Earth sciencesportal
• Lists of 20th-century earthquakes
• List of historical earthquakes
• Lists of earthquakes

References

1. "USGS: Magnitude 8 and Greater Earthquakes Since 1900". Archived from the original on November 12, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
2. Kolbe, Athena R.; Hutson, Royce A.; Shannon, Harry; Trzcinski, Eileen; Miles, Bart; Levitz, Naomi; Puccio, Marie; James, Leah; Roger Noel, Jean; Muggah, Robert (2010). "Mortality, crime and access to basic needs before and after the Haiti earthquake: a random survey of Port-au-Prince households". Medicine, Conflict and Survival. 26 (4): 281–297. doi:10.1080/13623699.2010.535279. PMID   21314081. S2CID   26000167.
3. Kolbe, Athena R.; Hutson, Royce A.; Shannon, Harry; Trzcinski, Eileen; Miles, Bart; Levitz, Naomi; Puccio, Marie; James, Leah; Roger Noel, Jean; Muggah, Robert (2010). "Mortality, crime and access to basic needs before and after the Haiti earthquake: a random survey of Port-au-Prince households". Medicine, Conflict and Survival. 26 (4): 281–297. doi:10.1080/13623699.2010.535279. PMID   21314081. S2CID   26000167.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 15, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
5. ISC 2022.
6. Ferris, Elizabeth; Solís, Mireya (March 11, 2013). "Earthquake, Tsunami, Meltdown – The Triple Disaster's Impact on Japan, Impact on the World". Brookings. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
7. "Deprem bölgesinde fatura borçlarının silinmesi için süre uzatıldı". Milat Gazetsi. August 22, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
8. "Political failure has killed people in Syria before and after the earthquakes". Counsil for Arab-British Understanding. April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
9. Bernal, Vivian Argueta; Procee, Paul (May 12, 2012). "Four years on: What China got right when rebuilding after the Sichuan earthquake". World Bank. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
10. "Significant Earthquake Database". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on September 29, 2006. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
11. Guha-Sapir, Debarati; Santos, Indhira; Borde, Alexandre (2013). The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 252. ISBN   978-0-19-984193-6.
12. "The Canterbury rebuild five years on from the Christchurch earthquake" (PDF). Reserve Bank of New Zealand . February 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
13. "2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Survey Report (Preliminary)" (PDF). Asian Disaster Reduction Center. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
14. Santanu Baruah; Sowrav Saikia; Saurabh Baruah; Pabon K. Bora; Ruben Tatevossian; J. R. Kayal (March 19, 2014). "The September 2011 Sikkim Himalaya earthquake Mw 6.9: is it a plane of detachment earthquake?". Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk. 7: 248–263. doi: 10.1080/19475705.2014.895963 . S2CID   128915677.
15. "Italy Quake Reconstruction to Cost at Least $16 Billion". Fox News. April 15, 2009. Archived from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
16. "Where can I learn more about the 1906 Earthquake?". Berkeley Seismological Lab. December 11, 2011.
17. National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) (1972). "Significant Earthquake Database". Significant Earthquake Database (Data Set). National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K.
18. "Events and Developments (P. 3, "Calendar of events 2010: February 27")" (PDF). Yearbook. UNEP. 2011.

Sources

• ISC (2022), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1904–2018), Version 9.1, International Seismological Centre

External links

• IRIS Seismic Monitor
• USGS list of current earthquakes
• EMSC – Recent European and World earthquakes