10 strongest earthquakes in modern history
Here is a list of the 10 strongest earthquakes recorded in the last century, according to their magnitude:
May 22, 1960 – Chile – An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale struck Santiago and Concepcion, triggering tidal waves and volcanic eruptions. Some 5 000 people were killed and 2 million homeless.
March 28, 1964 – Alaska – An earthquake and ensuing tsunami claimed 125 lives and caused about $ 311 million in damage. The quake, measuring 9.2 was felt over a large area of Alaska and parts of western Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Canada.
March 9, 1957 – Alaska – An earthquake of 9.1 hit the islands Andreanof. On Umnak Island, Mount Vsevidof erupted after being dormant for 200 years, generating a tsunami 15 meters high that continued to Hawaii.
December 26, 2004 - Indonesia – An earthquake measuring 9.0 struck the coast of Aceh province on the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed thousands in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and India .
November 4, 1952 – Russia – An earthquake of magnitude 9.0 generated a tsunami that struck the Hawaiian islands. There were no fatalities.
January 31, 1906 – Ecuador – A 8.8 earthquake recorded off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia, generating a strong tsunami that killed up to a thousand people. He felt along the Pacific coast of Central America to San Francisco and as far as western Japan.
February 4, 1965 – Alaska – 8.7 magnitude earthquake degrees, the quake generated a tsunami reported to be about 10.7 meters high on Shemya Island.
August 15, 1950 – Tibet / India – 2000 houses, temples and mosques were destroyed in an earthquake of 8.6 Richter. Hardest hit was the Brahmaputra Basin in northeast India. At least 1,500 people died.
February 3, 1923 – Russia – Kamchatka was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 8.5.
February 1, 1938 – Indonesia – An earthquake with magnitude 8.5 in the Banda Sea generated several tsunami caused extensive damage in Banda and Kai, volcanic islands in eastern Indonesia.
January 12, 2009 – Haiti – at 16:53:09 local time with epicenter at 15 km from Port au Prince, Haiti’s capital. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake would have had a magnitude of 7.0 degrees and would have been generated at a depth of 10 kilometers.
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- Tsunami explained
- Toba, supervolcano in Indonesia
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