Top 10 Strongest Earthquakes

(Highest Recorded Magnitude)*

*[since 1900 when seismic observatories can

provide high quality earthquake data]

5
1
q

2
4

4
3

8
7
6
5

Sumatra Earthquake

1.9 Billion
Dollars
3rd
Most
Powerful
Earthquake Since 1965
in Indonesia
Effects were felt as far
away
asBangkok,
Thailand;
over
1,000
kilometres (620mi) away
The earthquake lasted for
about two minutes in
total; eight major aftershocks

5-25 Million
Dollars

Vallenar Earthquake

Preceded
strongforeshocks

by

Length
of
the
plate
boundary that ruptured
during the earthquake is
estimated to be 390km

The maximum height of tsunami

measured about 9 m atChaaral
but the most destructive was
the
7-m
tsunami
occurred
atCaldera

Medog Earthquake

Also known as Assam

Earthquake
Largest known earthquake to
have not been caused by an
oceanicsubduction
Instead, this quake was caused
by twocontinental plates
converging

Chile Earthquake

Insurance Cost: 4 7
Billion Dollars
Athrust-faultingfocal
mechanism,
caused by thesubductionof the
Nazca plate beneath the South
American
Tectonic
Plates.
Economic
Loss:
15 30

Shaking lasted for about

Billion
Dollars
three minutes;
more
than
130 aftershocks had been
registered

Segment of the fault zone which ruptured

in this earthquake was estimated to be
over 700 km (430 mi) long with a
displacement of almost 10 meters

Ecuador Colombia
Earthquake

Deaths caused by the

tsunami vary between 500
and 1,500
The greatest damage from the
tsunami occurred on the coast
betweenRo Verde, Ecuador and
Micay, Colombia.
The rupture zone for this
earthquake was 500600 km
long

 Japan
declared reached
a state
of
Tsunamiwaves
heights
emergency
following
the
of up to 40.5 meters.
failure of the cooling system
I Nuclear
at
SoiltheFukushima
liquefaction ofreclaimed
Power
land. Plant.

Tohoku Earthquake

Radiation
levels inside
the
A volcano inKyushu
erupted.
plant were up to 1,000 times
levels,and
that
normal
InAntarctica,
the
seismic
radiation
levelstheWhillans
outside the
waves caused
Ice
plant
were
up to 8 times
Streamto
slip.
Most
normal levels. powerful
knownearthquake ever to
4.4million
households
in
have hit Japan
Over
549Cultural
Propertieswere
Northeastern
Japan
were the
left
900 aftershocks
since
damaged,
including
without electricity.
earthquake,
Over eight5National
hundred
Treasures of magnitude 4.5
aftershocks
3
greater have occurred
Mwor
220,000-barrel
(35,000
m
)thePacific
15,844
5,890
per-day deaths,
oil refinery
wasinjured,
set
Plateissubductingunder
theon
3,451
missing northern
fire people
plate
beneath

Economic Cost: 235

Billion Dollars
Honshu

Kamchatka earthquake

Pacific
Platesubducts
under theOkhotsk Plate
Aftershocks were recorded in an
area
of
approximately
247,000km2.
A large tsunami resulted, causing
destruction and loss of life around
the Kamchatka peninsula and the
Kuril Islands

Alaska Earthquake

Property Damage:
$310
million($2.12billion in
current U.S. dollars
because of inflation)

Most powerful
recordedearthquakeinU
.S.andNorth
Americanhistory
Lasted nearly
minutes

four

A
massive
underwater
landslide, resulting in the
deaths of 30 people.

Indian Ocean
earthquake

$14 billion
(2004U.S.
Countries affected by the quakes
secondary
effect
(tsunami)
were
dollars)
in
Indonesia Sri Lanka, India Thailand,
Maldives,
Eastern
coast
ofAfrica(Somalia).
humanitarian
Of all theseismic momentreleased by
earthquakes in the 100 years from
aid
1906 through 2005, roughly one-eighth

was due to this huge earthquake.

This quake, together with theGood
Friday
Earthquakeand
theGreat
Chilean Earthquakeaccount for almost
half of the total moment.

Valvidia Earthquake

It caused localised tsunamis

that severely battered the Chilean
coast,
with
waves
up
to
25metres
(82ft)
Waves as high
as
10.7metres (35ft) were
recorded 10,000 kilometres
(6,200mi) from the
epicenter
Estimated number of casualties
is around 2,231 - 6,000