By Sabrina Perry
Contrary to popular belief, floods and droughts than hurricanes or earthquakes. Globally, however, earthquakes comprise some of the deadliest natural disasters in history.
In 1556, the in the People’s Republic of China killed an estimated 830,000 people, making it the deadliest earthquake on record. As a magnitude 8.0 earthquake, it is not one of the biggest in history. But, it caused large-scale destruction for two reasons: weak structural integrity of homes in the area and Shaanxi’s near three major fault lines.
To estimate the magnitudes for earthquakes before the introduction of modern seismic measurement techniques, scientists at the analyze various factors — including, but not limited to, estimated damage, location of the epicenter and nearby fault lines.
Thankfully, not all large earthquakes occur in highly inhabited areas, so death tolls rarely compare to the Shaanxi earthquake. Using data from the (NGDC), the experts at identified the 25 biggest earthquakes ever recorded. The largest earthquake had a 9.5 magnitude, and even No. 25, an Alaskan earthquake in 1957, was measured as an 8.6.
To give these chart-topping earthquakes context, the following slides visually depict the seismic activity of their respective countries both 20 years before and after. As one would imagine, these regions tend to experience more earthquakes in general. We have also included information on the damage done in dollars, deaths, structures and injuries. If we did not have a specific data point, it is not listed.
Though earthquakes might not be the biggest threat to most Americans, they incur heavy costs — both in mortality and financially — worldwide.
#25. Alaska
Location:
Date: March 9, 1957
Magnitude: 8.6
Total Deaths: 2
#24. Alaska: Unimak Island
Location:
Date: April 1, 1946
Magnitude: 8.6
Total Damage (in millions): $26.046
Total Deaths: 167
#23. Indonesia: N Sumatra: Off West Coast
Location:
Date: April 11, 2012
Magnitude: 8.6
Total Deaths: 10
#22. Peru: Trujillo, Piura, Santa
Location:
Date: February 14, 1619
Magnitude: 8.6
Total Deaths: 350
#21. Ecuador: Off Coast
Location:
Date: January 31, 1906
Magnitude: 8.6
Total Deaths: 1,000
#20. Indonesia: Sumatra: Sw
Location:
Date: March 28, 2005
Magnitude: 8.6
Total Deaths: 1,313
Houses Destroyed: 300
#19. India-China
Location:
Date: August 15, 1950
Magnitude: 8.6
Total Damage (in millions): $20
Total Deaths: 1,530
#18. Algeria: Algiers
Location:
Date: May 1716
Magnitude: 8.6
Total Deaths: 20,000
#17. Peru
Location:
Date: 1513
Magnitude: 8.7
#16. Greece: S
Location:
Date: April 16, 1514
Magnitude: 8.7
#15. Japan: Off East Coast Honshu
Location:
Date: June 5, 1898
Magnitude: 8.7
#14. Alaska: Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands
Location:
Date: February 4, 1965
Magnitude: 8.7
Total Damage: $10,000
#13. New Zealand: Wellington
Location:
Date: September 21, 1897
Magnitude: 8.7
#12. Chile: Valparaiso
Location:
Date: July 8, 1730
Magnitude: 8.7
Total Deaths: 5
#11. Philippines: Mindanao, Zamboanga, Sulu, Isabela
Location:
Date: September 21, 1897
Magnitude: 8.7
Total Deaths: 13
#10. Chile: Atacama
Location:
Date: November 11, 1922
Magnitude: 8.7
Total Deaths: 700
#9. Peru: Pueblo De Torata In Tacna
Location:
Date: February 6, 1716
Magnitude: 8.8
#8. Missouri: New Madrid
Location:
Date: February 7, 1812
Magnitude: 8.8
#7. Chile: Maule, Concepcion, Talcahuano
Location:
Date: February 27, 2010
Magnitude: 8.8
Total Damage (in millions): $30,000
Total Deaths: 558
#6. Cascadia Subduction Zone
Location:
Date: January 27, 1700
Magnitude: 9
#5. Russia: Kamchatka Peninsula
Location:
Date: November 4, 1952
Magnitude: 9
Total Deaths: 4,000
#4. Japan: Honshu
Location:
Date: March 11, 2011
Magnitude: 9
Total Damage (in millions): $220,085
Total Deaths: 18,482
Houses Destroyed: 127,511
#3. Indonesia: Sumatra: Off West Coast
Location:
Date: December 26, 2004
Magnitude: 9.1
Total Damage (in millions): $10,000
Total Deaths: 227,899
#2. Alaska
Location:
Date: March 28, 1964
Magnitude: 9.2
Total Damage (in millions): $400
Total Deaths: 139
#1. Chile: Puerto Montt, Valdivia
Location:
Date: May 22, 1960
Magnitude: 9.5
Total Damage (in millions): $1,000
Total Deaths: 2,223
Houses Destroyed: 58,622
This story was provided by FindtheData and Graphiq.
