13 Most Powerful and Deadly Earthquakes

After two strong earthquakes, the epicenter of which was Kahramanmarash on February 6, our country is perhaps experiencing one of the greatest disasters in the history of the Republic. According to official sources, the earthquake, which has killed 42,310 people so far, has also injured tens of thousands of our citizens. While the country has mobilized to heal the wounds of the region’s inhabitants, on the other hand, the world’s biggest earthquakes have become curious. In this article we have prepared for you, we have prepared a list of the strongest earthquakes in the world.

1. Earthquake in Chile, 1960

The Great Chilean earthquake went down in history as the largest on the Richter scale of all time. The magnitude of the earthquake that occurred in Valdivia, Chile, on May 22, 1960, was 9.5 points. The shaking, which lasted about 10 minutes, created a giant tsunami in the Pacific Ocean. So much so that even the coastal cities of Hilo, Hawaii and South Africa, located 10,000 kilometers away, were destroyed by the impact of this tsunami. While quake casualties were estimated at least 5,700, authorities announced thousands were injured.

2. Earthquake in Alaska, 1964

The strongest earthquake ever recorded in the United States was the Alaska earthquake on March 27, 1964. This earthquake is also known as the second largest earthquake on Earth after the 1960 Chile earthquake. The magnitude of the earthquake, which occurred at 17:36 local time, was 9.2 points. The shaking, which lasted 4 minutes 38 seconds, caused a tsunami up to 67 meters high on the coast of Alaska. Although the region most affected by the earthquake was Prince William Sound, the total death toll was 123 people.

3. Earthquake in Japan, 2011

The earthquake, named by the Japanese government as the Great East Japan Earthquake, occurred on March 11, 2011. The magnitude of the earthquake, which occurred at 14:46 local time, was 9.1 points, and the aftershocks lasted about 6 minutes. The earthquake, which killed more than 18,500 people, killed more than 4,600 people and injured thousands, caused about $309 billion in property damage. The earthquake damaged more than 332,000 buildings and left 2,100 roads and 56 bridges unusable. At the same time, the earthquake damaged the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, leading to one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. Severe aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 6.0 to 7.0 continued in the region for several weeks, and large tsunamis occurred in Hawaii, California and the Galapagos Islands due to the earthquake.

4. Earthquake in Indonesia, 2004

The Indonesian earthquake, the third largest ever recorded, occurred on December 26, 2004 at 00:58 local time. An earthquake of magnitude 9.1 off the Indonesian island of Sumatra has affected many countries in the Indian Ocean. Tsunamis, whose height reached 30 meters, claimed the lives of more than 220 thousand people in 14 countries. The authorities announced that the earthquake, which lasted 8 minutes, shifted the entire planet by 1 cm.

5. Russia, 1952

An earthquake of magnitude 9.0 occurred in Kamchatka on November 4, 1952. While piers, boats and homes along the coastline were severely damaged, tsunamis reaching up to 13 meters in length also affected Crescent City and California. Authorities announced that more than 2,300 people were killed in the earthquake and tsunami.

6. Chile, 2010

This 8.8 magnitude earthquake, which is one of the largest earthquakes in the world, hit the coast of Chile on February 27, 2010. As a result, the tsunami also affected Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and Antarctica, as well as Chile and Peru. Authorities announced that the quake had killed more than 500 people and displaced 800,000 people. The material damage is estimated at about $30 billion.

7. Ecuador, 1906

An earthquake of magnitude 8.8 occurred on January 31, 1906. The disaster that hit the coasts of Ecuador and Colombia caused a tsunami reaching 5 meters in length. The earthquake, which also affected the coast of Central America and the coast of Japan, claimed the lives of 500 people.

8. Earthquake in Alaska, 1965

Alaska was only 6 years old when this magnitude 8.7 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami. The resulting tsunamis were also effective along the coasts of Hawaii and Japan, except for Alaska. It was stated that the property damage that occurred after the earthquake was mainly caused by the tsunami.

9. Assam – Tibet, 1950

This earthquake is commonly known as the Assam-Tibetan earthquake, although its epicenter is Tibet. Because the earthquake strongly affected the Indian state of Assam. An 8.6 magnitude earthquake on August 15, 1950 killed at least 1,500 people. Large cracks in the ground, landslides and sand volcanoes formed in the area, and several villages were completely flooded due to overflowing rivers.

10. North Sumatra, 2005

While Indonesia was trying to heal the wounds of the 2004 earthquake, it was hit again by a massive earthquake a year later. An 8.6 magnitude earthquake on March 28, 2005 lasted 2 minutes. Over the next 24 hours, 8 aftershocks occurred, ranging in magnitude from 5.5 to 6.0. The 2005 earthquake did not result in a large loss of life as the public’s awareness and awareness of being prepared for the previous earthquake improved.

11. Tangshan earthquake, 1976

The Tangshan, China earthquake on July 28, 1976 was one of the most fatal earthquakes in the world. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 240,000 people and seriously injured another 160,000. Although the shaking only lasted 10 seconds, the destruction in the city was massive. Specialists attribute such large destruction to the fact that Tangshan is not a dangerous area in terms of earthquakes and that the houses were not built with a high level of strength.

12. Haiyuan earthquake, 1920

This earthquake of magnitude 7.8, also known as the Gansu earthquake, hit the city of Haiyuan in the Ganyanchi region of China. The catastrophe that occurred on December 16, 1920 claimed the lives of almost 250 thousand people. Although landslides resulted from the shaking, aftershocks continued in the region for several years.

13. Earthquake in Haiti, 2010

The earthquake, which occurred on January 12, 2010 at 21:53 local time, caused great destruction in Haiti. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake killed 316,000 people and injured about 300,000, according to official figures. After the main earthquake, dozens of aftershocks with magnitudes from 5.0 to 5.9 occurred in the region. An estimated 1.3 million people were left homeless, especially after the earthquake in southern Haiti.

You may also be interested in this content:

Second largest earthquake in Anatolia: 1939 Erzincan earthquake.

Source: 1, 2