25 Worst Earthquakes in History

8/12/2019 25 Worst Earthquakes in History

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10Kashmir, Pakistan

The October 8, 2005 Kashmir, Pakistan was visited by anearthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.6.The disaster had adeath toll of 85,000 and more than 69,000 were injured. Consideredto be smaller in size than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, itaffected countries in surrounding regions with 14,000 deaths inJammu and tremors felt in Taijikistan and western China. It also costa staggering $5.4 billion in aids from all around the world.

9Shemakha, Azerbaijan


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This was a 6.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred in November1667 with its epicenter close to the city of Samaxi, Azerbaijan. It hada maximum felt intensity of ten and caused the death of 80,000people. It had a focal depth of 12 kilometers with an estimateddamage of over $25 million.

8Tabriz, Iran


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This took place near the city of Tabriz, Iran on April 26, 1721, anddestroyed prominent mosques and schools resulting in deathcasualties of 8,000 to 250,000, though it was approximated at80,000 only. Interpreted as an omen of misfortune or ademonstration of divine wrath, it contributed to the success of theOttoman take-over of Tabriz in 1722 and on its economic difficulties,as well as the destruction of the citys significant historical

monuments.7

Lisbon, Portugal


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Known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, this event occurred onNovember 1, 1755 in the Kingdom of Portugal. Seismologists todayestimate the Lisbon earthquake in the range of 8.5 to 9.0 on themoment magnitude scale that has a deadly combination ofsubsequent fires and a tsunami. It totally destroyed Lisbon and its

surrounding areas with an estimated death toll of between 10,000and 100,000 people. Because of its devastating effects over largeareas, this event resulted in the scientific studies of modernseismology and earthquake engineering.

6Yungay, Peru


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This Great Peruvian Earthquake was an undersea earthquake thataffected the regions of Ancash and La Libertad. It occurred in May31, 1970 ad was recorded as the worst catastrophic natural disaster

that hit Peru, which affected over 3 million people. It has amagnitude of 7.9 to 8.0 on the Richter scale with an intensity of VIIIon the Mercalli scale, which lasted for 45 seconds. This caused therock, ice, and snow avalanche on the northern wall of MountHuascaran burying the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca, which ledto the death of 20,000 people in Yungay alone. The damagesincurred tallied to 74,194 deaths, 25,600 missing, 143,331 injured,and more than a million homeless. The estimated economic losswas more than half a billion USD with the entire communication

system and basic facilities destroyed.

5Sicily, Italy


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On January 11, 1693, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4and maximum intensity of XI or extreme had struck the parts ofSicily, Calabria, and Matta in southern Italy. Considered the mostpowerful in Italian history, it destroyed at least 70 towns and cities

causing the death of 60,000 people. It was also followed by atsunami that hit the Ionian Sea and the Straits of Messina, wiping outtwo-thirds of the entire population of Catania.

4Calabria, Italy


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The Calabrian earthquakes were a series of five strong seismicactivities that hit the region of Calabria in southern Italy fromFebruary 5 to 7, and on March 1 and 28 of the year 1783, where thefirst two resulted in significant tsunamis. It has an estimatedmagnitude on the Richter scale of 5.9 or greater, and causedfatalities that range from 32,000 to 50,000 over a period of twomonths. The estimated magnitude on February 5 was 7.9, whichdestroyed 180 villages and has a death toll of 25,000; while theFebruary 6 quake brought a magnitude of 6.2 with tsunami reaching200 meters inland causing the death of 1,500 people. Thesucceeding events were of similar magnitude and destroyedcountless lives and properties as well.

3Rudbar, Iran


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This disastrous event happened on June 21, 1990 and causedwidespread damage within 100 kilometers of the epicenters radiusnear the city of Rashi, and about 200 kilometer northwest of Tehran.It destroyed 700 villages across the cities of Rudbar, Manjiil, andLushan and cost $200,000,000 in damages, including 40,000fatalities, 60,000 injured and 500,000 people homeless.

2Izmit, Turkey


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This was a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck northern Turkey onAugust 17, 1990, which lasted for only 3.7 seconds. The city of Izmitwas very badly damaged and had a death toll of 17,127 and 43, 959injured though other sources suggested that the actual figure for

fatalities may be closer to 45,000 with a similar number of injured.Another report from September 1999 showed that the earthquakehad destroyed 120,000 poorly-engineered houses, heavily damaged50,000 houses; caused 2,000 buildings to collapse while 4,000 otherbuildings left severely damaged, and made more than 300,000people homeless.

1Nankaido, Japan


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This 8.6 magnitude earthquake that occurred on September 20,1498, off the coast of Nankia, Japan triggered a large tsunami, whichcost the lives of between 26,000 and 31,000 people. It caused

severe shaking that reached the Boso Peninsula and also caused atsunami in the Suruga Bay, which destroyed the building that housedthe statue of the Great Buddha at Kotuku-in.

25 Worst Earthquakes in History

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