Seven of the most powerful earthquakes
News reports have been rife with gut-wrenching details of the April 25 earthquake that reportedly measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and took 4,000 lives. By the Random House Encyclopedia definition, earthquakes are tremors caused when “two parts of the Earth’s surface move suddenly in relation to each other along a crack called a fault."
Earthquakes are also known for destruction brought on by monstrous waves – tsunamis. These are generated by seismic disturbances on the sea floor, according to Random House.
In Nepal, news reports described rescuers scurrying to save victims -- many of whom are stranded in the rubble. While some of history's most violent earthquakes have taken many lives, there have also been events that occurred in unpopulated regions or during eras before land was settled. But on at least seven occasions, earthquakes have packed an especially hard punch, according to the U. S. Geological Survey:
- Valdivia, Chile
Magnitude: 9.5
Casualties: 2,000 dead, 3,000 injured and 2 million suddenly left homeless in Chili, with more casualties in other countries.
The event: Described as the largest earthquake of the 20th Century, it hit 100 miles off the coast of Chili and parallel to Valdivia, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. A punishing tsunami followed, leaving 61 dead and bringing about $75 million in damages to Hawaii, according to the U.S. government. There were 138 deaths and $50 million in damages to Japan, 32 dead and/or missing in the Philippines and $500,000 in damages to the west coast of the United States.
2. Prince William Sound, Alaska
Date: March 27-28, 1964
Magnitude: 9.2
Casualties: 131 deaths.
The event: The epicenter was about 6 miles east of the mouth of College Fiord in the Prince William Sound region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards program. It lasted approximately 4.5 minutes and is considered the most powerful earthquake recorded in U.S. history. More than 90 percent of deaths during the earthquake were due to the subsequent tsunamis, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
3. Sumatra, Indonesia
Magnitude: 9.1
Casualties: 227,898 deaths.
The event: The quake off the west coast of Northern Sumatra lasted three to four minutes and was intense – releasing the energy of 23,000 Nagasaki bombs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The rupture left “the greatest fault length of any recorded earthquake,” spanning 900 miles, longer than the state of California, according to the California Institute of Technology. What followed was worse – known to the West as the Indian Ocean tsunami. Walls of water wiped out coastal communities, killing and injuring thousands and, by U.S. government estimates, displacing approximately 1.7 million in 14 countries in South Asia and East Africa.
4. Near the coast of Honshu, Japan
Magnitude: 9.0
Casualties: 15,703 people killed, 4,647 missing, 5,314 injured and 130,927 displaced.
The event: The quake took place near the east coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Most of the casualties occurred during the tsunami that followed, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Along with the loss of life, the country took a financial wallop -- a total economic loss estimated at $309 billion. Famously, reactors at a nuclear power plant were damaged, along with roads, telecommunications and railways.
5. Kamchatka, Russia
Date: Nov. 4, 1952Magnitude: 9.0
Casualties: None.
The event: The earthquake, which triggered a Pacificwide tsunami, is sometimes described as having a lesser magnitude -- 8.2. The U.S. government's website says 9.0 is a better estimation of the earthquake's size. In Hawaii, losses were estimated at $800,000 to $1 million. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a farmer on Oahu lost six cows.
6. Arica, Peru (now Chile)
Date: Aug. 13, 1868
Magnitude: 9.0
Casualties: An estimated 25,000 deaths.
The event: The earthquake and tsunami that followed ended the lives of thousands along the South American coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But the damage wasn’t just confined to South America. The ensuing tsunami struck New Zealand and caused substantial damage to the Chatham Islands, about 466 miles east of New Zealand.
7. The western coast of North America
Date: Jan. 26, 1700Magnitude: 9.0
Casualties: Unknown.
The event: The U.S. Geological Survey refers to this event as occurring in Cascadia, a region 600 miles long that includes northern California, Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia. The ensuing tsunami struck the Pacific Coast and traveled across the ocean to Japan. Canada’s Department of Natural Resources describes the shaking as “so violent that people could not stand and so prolonged that it made them sick.” The tsunami destroyed a Pachena Bay village, leaving no survivors. (According to the Canadian government's website, the date of this earthquake and tsunami is known as a result of record keeping in Japan.)
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