Earthquakes are caused by movements within the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. They range from events too weak to be detectable except by sensitive instrumentation, to sudden and violent events lasting many minutes which have caused some of the greatest disasters in human history. Below, earthquakes are listed by period, region or country, year, magnitude, cost, fatalities and number of scientific studies.
It is the largest earthquake ever recorded in North America and the second largest in history, behind only the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. 131 people were killed, all but nine died from the tsunami.
242,719 people were officially counted as dead, while some sources say the death toll is as high as 655,000. This is the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century and the third deadliest in recorded history.
1,578 people were killed (1,424 of them in Bucharest) and 11,221 injured in Romania. In neighboring Bulgaria, 120 were killed and 165 were injured, while in Moldova (Moldovan SSR at the time), 2 people died.
Between 2,633 and 5,000 people were killed and between 8,369 and 9,000 were injured. This is the largest earthquake to hit the Atlas Mountains since 1790.
Between 25,000 and 50,000 were killed and up to 130,000 were injured. An aftershock of ML 5.8 occurred shortly after. Four people were also killed in Turkey.
Between 35,000 and 40,000 people were killed, between 60,000 and 108,000 injured and 105,000 to 450,000 displaced throughout Northern Iran, most especially in the Manjil-Rudbar area and in Tehran. Slight damage also occurred in Azerbaijan (part of the Soviet Union at the time).
Between 768 and 2,000 people were killed, more than 1,800 injured and 18,000 buildings destroyed in the Chamoli-Uttarkashi area. Some damage occurred at Chandigarh and New Delhi.[3]
At least 2,500 people killed or missing in the Flores region, including 1,490 at Maumere and 700 on Babi. More than 500 people were injured and 90,000 were left homeless. Nineteen people killed and 130 houses destroyed on Kalaotoa. Severe damage, with approximately 90 percent of the buildings destroyed at Maumere by the earthquake and tsunami; 50 to 80 percent of the structures on Flores were damaged or destroyed. Damage also occurred on Sumba and Alor. The tsunami on Flores ran inland as much as 300 meters with wave heights of 25 meters. Landslides and ground cracks were reported at several locations on the island.[4]
At least 9,748 people were killed, about 30,000 were injured and extreme devastation in the Latur-Osmanabad area. Nearly all buildings were destroyed in the village of Khillari.
At least 1,100 people killed, 500 missing, 13,000 homeless and severe damage caused to houses, highways and bridges by the earthquake and ensuing landslides in Cauca, Huila, Tolima and Valle departments. At least 200 homes were destroyed, including 25 at Toribio and 15 at Piendamo. Moderate structural damage occurred at Bogotá and Cali.
6,434 people were killed, 43,792 injured and extensive damage occurred in the Kobe area and on Awaji-shima. Over 90 percent of the casualties occurred along the southern coast of Honshu between Kobe and Nishinomiya. At least 28 people were killed by a landslide at Nishinomiya. About 310,000 people were evacuated to temporary shelters. Over 200,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Numerous fires, gas and water main breaks and power outages occurred in the epicentral area.
322 people were killed and 16,925 were injured. About 358,000 houses collapsed and 654,000 others were damaged. More than 320,000 people were left homeless.
2,394 people were killed, 2,300 were injured, 50,000 left homeless, 10,533 houses were destroyed, 5,474 houses damaged and landslides occurred in the Birjand-Qayen area.
20,085 people were killed, 166,800 people were injured and over a million buildings damaged or destroyed, this was the 3rd largest earthquake in India since 1900.
26,271 people were killed and 30,000 people were injured. The city of Bam was catastrophically impacted with many buildings, including the Bam Citadel completely destroyed.
This is the third largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and is the largest since the 1964 Alaska earthquake. In total, at least 227,898 people were killed, many more injured and 1,126,900 were displaced by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 14 countries in South Asia and East Africa.
At least 87,351 people killed, more than 138,000 injured and extensive damage in Pakistan and India. The heaviest damage occurred in the Muzaffarabad area, Pakistan where entire villages were destroyed. In addition, approximately 250,000 farm animals died due to the collapse of stone barns, and more than 500,000 large animals required immediate shelter from the harsh winter.
At least 5,749 people were killed, over 38,000 were injured and at least 600,000 people were displaced in the Bantul-Yogyakarta area.[6] More than 127,000 houses were destroyed and an additional 451,000 were damaged in the area, with the total loss estimated at 3.1 billion U.S. dollars.
At least 87,587 people killed, 374,643 injured and 18,392 missing and presumed dead. More than 45.5 million people in 10 provinces and regions were affected. At least 15 million people were evacuated from their homes and more than 5 million were left homeless. An estimated 5.36 million buildings collapsed and more than 21 million buildings were damaged. The total economic loss was estimated at 86 billion US dollars.
At least 1,115 people killed, 2,181 injured, 181,665 buildings destroyed or damaged and about 451,000 people displaced in Padang. Damage estimated at 2.3 billion U.S. dollars.
The earthquake killed between 92,000 and 316,000 people, and injured 300,000. With 1.3 million displaced, 97,294 houses were destroyed and 188,383 were damaged in the Port-au-Prince area and in much of southern Haiti.
At least 19,747 people killed, 2,556 missing, 6,242 injured, 130,927 displaced and at least 332,395 buildings, 2,126 roads, 56 bridges and 26 railways destroyed or damaged by the earthquake and tsunami along the entire east coast of Honshu from Chiba to Aomori.
At least 676 people killed, 27,732 injured and 7,000 buildings damaged or destroyed including most of the town of Pedernales and its surrounding urban areas.
At least 4,340 people killed, 10,679 people injured, 667 people missing, and 206,524 people made refugees. most of the casualties and damage were caused by a tsunami up to 7m (23ft) in Donggala.
At least 59,488 people were killed and 121,704 people were injured after a Mw7.8 earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, followed by a Mw7.7 aftershock occurring a few hours later.
At least 240 people were killed, 1,289 were injured, and 15 are missing. A tsunami reaching up to 6.58m (21.6ft) tall was generated and affected the Sea of Japan. It was the deadliest earthquake in Japan since 2016.
Most of the deaths were caused by a tsunami, which was the largest earthquake-produced tsunami ever recorded at a height of 67.0m (219.8ft). This is the second most powerful earthquake in modern times and the most powerful in North America.
A tsunami up to 10.7m (35ft) occurred, but caused little damage. This is the second most powerful earthquake in Alaska and the United States as a whole.
At least 3,536 buildings damaged or destroyed. A 3.0m (9.8ft) tsunami was observed on the Mexican coast, although some estimates put the height at 30m (98ft)[30]
Majority of the deaths associated a tsunami that devastated parts of Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa. The tsunami measured 51m (167ft) in Banda Aceh.
A pie chart comparing the seismic moment release of the three largest earthquakes for the hundred-year period from 1906 to 2005 with that for all earthquakes of magnitudes <6, 6 to 7, 7 to 8 and >8 for the same period. The 2011 Japan quake would be roughly similar to Sumatra.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 colour indicates the continent, and the legend counts the number of quakes for each. Notice the absence of Africa.
45 earthquakes with an estimated magnitude of 8.5 or higher have occurred since 1501. For those which occurred before the development and deployment of seismographs – starting around 1900 – magnitudes are estimated from historical reports of the extent and severity of damage.[36]
Historical records are known to be incomplete. Earthquakes that occurred in remote areas prior to the advent of modern instrumentation in the early to mid 1900s were not well-reported, and exact locations and magnitudes of such events are often unknown. Therefore, the apparent increase in large earthquake frequency over the last few centuries is unlikely to be accurate, with the better interpretation that, had the list been more complete, then a dozen or so per century would be average.
Largest earthquakes by country/territory
This list is a work in progress. Information is likely to be changed.
The list refers to current country boundaries rather than those at the date of the earthquake.
Reports probably relate to the 893 Dvin earthquake, due to misreading of the Arabic word for Dvin, 'Dabil' as 'Ardabil'.[183] This is regarded as a 'fake earthquake'.[184]
The ground shook for 30 to 40 seconds around 5:20 am, and destruction occurred within a 300km radius. 91% of structures in Messina were destroyed and ~70,000 residents died. Rescuers searched for weeks, and whole families were pulled out alive days later. A 40-foot (12 m) tsunami struck nearby coasts. Reggio Calabria on the Italian mainland also suffered heavy damage.
This earthquake with an epicenter beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay, shook the Kantō plain on the Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58 am. Shaking duration reported between 4 and 10 minutes, devastating Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka.[188] Shaking slid the 93-ton Great Buddha statue at Kamakura almost 2 feet (0.61m) forward. Casualty estimates range from 100,000 to 142,800, the latter figure including ~40,000 missing later presumed dead.
The 50 most studied earthquakes according to the International Seismological Centre (ISC), based on a count of scientific papers (mostly in English) that discuss that earthquake. The "Event #" is linked to the ISC Event Bibliography for that event.
An earthquake occurred off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula on July 28, 2021, at 10:15 p.m. local time. The large megathrust earthquake had a moment magnitude of 8.2 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). A tsunami warning was issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) but later cancelled. The mainshock was followed by a number of aftershocks, including three that were of magnitude 5.9, 6.1 and 6.9 respectively.
The 1979 Yapen earthquake occurred on September 12 at 05:17:51 UTC. It had an epicenter near the coast of Yapen Island in Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Measuring 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale and having a depth of 20 km (12 mi), it caused severe damage on the island. At least 115 were killed due to shaking and a moderate tsunami.
↑ Carvajal, M.; Cisternas, M.; Catalán, P.A. (2017). "Source of the 1730 Chilean earthquake from historical records: Implications for the future tsunami hazard on the coast of Metropolitan Chile". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 122 (5): 3648–3660. Bibcode:2017JGRB..122.3648C. doi:10.1002/2017JB014063. S2CID133806784.
↑ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information". doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K.
1 2 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information". doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K.
↑ Guha-Sapir, Debarati; Santos, Indhira; Borde, Alexandre (2013). The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.252. ISBN978-0-19-984193-6.
↑ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information". doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K.
↑ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information". doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K.
↑ Hammer, Joshua. (2006). Yokohama Burning: the Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II, p. 278, citing Francis Hawks, (1856). Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan Performed in the Years 1852, 1853 and 1854 under the Command of Commodore M.C. Perry, United States Navy, Washington: A.O.P. Nicholson by order of Congress, 1856; originally published in Senate Executive Documents, No. 34 of 33rd Congress, 2nd Session.
↑ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information". doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K.
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