Turkey and Syria were hit by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake this week. Given the size of the damage, we decided to put together a list of 10 worst earthquakes in human history. Most of the tremors recorded similar numbers on the Richter scale, but due to their epicentric location and geo-political phenomena, they caused the death of thousands of people.
The 10 deadliest earthquakes ever recorded in the world
The purpose of the list is not to minimize the tragedy in the Middle East, but rather to solemnly remember how vulnerable we are to the forces of nature. Check out the 10 worst earthquakes of humanity:
10 – Chimbote, Peru (1970) – Magnitude 7.9
On May 31, 1970 the coast of Peru was hit by a huge earthquake. Even though the epicenter was about 30 km from the coast, the entire country was affected and tremors were felt even in the capital, Lima, about 400 km away. Landslides swept away entire villages, taking the lives of 70 thousand people and leaving another 800,000 homeless.
Despite the deaths, this was not the most powerful earthquake in Latin America: that title goes to an earthquake in Chile in 1960, which registered 9.5 on the Richter scale and caused the death of 6,000 people.
09 – Messina, Italy (1908) – Magnitude 7.5
An earthquake hit the Strait of Messina, which divides Sicily from the rest of Italy, on December 28, 1908. With a considerable magnitude of 7.5, what caused most of the deaths was the Tsunami that swept the coast of Italy, causing more in 80 thousand deaths.
08- Kashmir, Pakistan (2005) – Magnitude 7.6
The extremely violent divide between India and Pakistan has come under attack not by military but by nature. It was on the 8th of October 2005 that the mountainous region suffered 86 thousand dead and millions homeless.
07 – Sichuan, China (2008) Magnitude 7.9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ5KR6jifTU
Natural disasters in Asia are usually very lethal, as a large part of the global population resides on the continent. The earthquake hit the Sichuan mountain region in western China. About 87 thousand people died and approximately 10 million had their homes destroyed. Intensifying the tragedy, the tremor occurred during school hours. About 10,000 of the deaths were children.
06 – Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (1948) Magnitude 7.3
The earthquake hit hard and destroyed much of the capital of Turkmenistan, at the time a Soviet republic. Death tolls were never officially revealed by the government, but an estimated 10% of Turkmenistan’s population perished. Between 10,000 and 110,000 people.
05 – Kanto, Japan (1923) Magnitude 7.9
Because of its geographic location between tectonic plates, Japan has a long history of earthquakes. The deadliest occurred on September 1, 1923, destroying much of Tokyo and Yokohama. 90% of the buildings were damaged and 143 thousand people died.
04 – Haiti (2010) Magnitude 7
This was one of the most destructive natural disasters ever recorded in human history. Apart from the immense number of dead, about 220 thousand people, the whole country was completely destroyed. Thousands died in the months after the earthquake from disease and malnutrition. Haiti accepted international humanitarian aid from several countries, and the Brazilian Army carried out several peacekeeping missions in the country.
03 – Indian Ocean (2004) Magnitude 9.2
The third most powerful earthquake ever recorded on the Richter scale occurred in the Indian Ocean and resulted in tsunamis 15 to 30 meters high. The waves devastated coastal countries Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The official death rate is 227,898most of whom are residents of Indonesia.
02 – Haiyuan, China (1920) Magnitude 7.8
Registering 7.8 on the Richter scale, this was one of the deadliest earthquakes in China and the world. Estimates vary between 234 and 273 thousand dead. According to National Geographic, many subsequent tremors occurred and left survivors afraid to build anything more than temporary shelters. The severe winter came and killed many earthquake survivors.
01 – Tangshan, China (1976) Magnitude 7.8
Like Japan, China’s geographic location lies between several tectonic plates, resulting in constant earthquakes. The deadliest earthquake on our list occurred in Tangshan province, and it was a binary earthquake: 16 hours after the first quake that registered 7.8 on the Richter scale, a second earthquake hit the same region, also registering exactly 7.8 in magnitude. The exact number of deaths is not known, as the Chinese government refused international aid and hushed up the case. The death toll is estimated to be between 250 and 700 thousand people.
Other Devastating Earthquakes
Earthquakes are geographical natural disasters that have always occurred, so we have several records of these events throughout history.
Shaanxi, China (1556)
In the year 1556, for example, China suffered possibly the deadliest earthquake in human history: The numbers are confusing, but it is estimated that around 100,000 people died immediately, buried in the caves where they lived, and 700,000 died of starvation and disease over the next few months. If that number is high today, remember that this tragedy occurred at a time when the world’s population was only half a billion people.
Rhodes (226 BC)
Rhodes was a coastal trading town famous for its huge bronze statue, the Colossus of Rhodes, built as a thank you to the gods. An earthquake damaged much of the city and toppled the statue, which lay in pieces in the harbor for centuries.
Fukushima (2011)
Another one that was left out of the list was the Fukushima earthquake. On March 11, 2011 Japan suffered from tremors that lasted about 6 minutes, registering 9.1 on the Richter scale.
Despite the country’s infrastructure being built to deal with earthquakes, protections against tsunamis were of no avail. Waves of up to 10 meters high flooded Fukushima Prefecture, claiming the lives of 18,428 people. The tsunami also destroyed the nuclear power plant’s reactors in the region, causing the worst nuclear disaster in history since Chernobyl (1986). To date, 330 km² remain in quarantine because of radiation.
