Top Ten

Deadliest
Earthquakes
10. The 1923 “Great Kantō”
"earthquake, Japan
• With a confirmed 105,000 deaths, this tragic quake
struck just before noon on September 1st with a
magnitude of 8.3 on the Richter scale.
• Centered around the Kantō plain on the Japanese
main island of Honshū, the earthquake devastated
many areas of the region, such as Tokyo, Yokohama,
Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka.
• Fatalities in this quake were exacerbated by the fact
that it struck around lunchtime. Since many were
cooking lunch over fires, widespread fires broke out
with limited ability to extinguish them.
• A nearby typhoon in Northern Japan did not help the
situation; firestorms then erupted and, in one case,
developed into a fire whirl which killed roughly 38,000
packed into an open air market in downtown Tokyo.
9. The 893 “Ardabil” earthquake –
Iran
• Ardabil is located in the northwest corner
of Iran near the Caspian Sea
• Due to the location more than the age of
this earthquake, there is very little
information on what exactly happened or
its full impact.
• It is actually unknown as to when during
the year this happened.
• The magnitude is unknown, but according
to the US Geological Survey, roughly
150,000 people were killed.
8. The 856 “Damghan”
earthquake – Iran
• Just 40 years before the destructive
Ardabil quake, Damghan was shook to
pieces, causing the death of around
200,000 people
• Damghan was the capital of Iran before it
was hit with a magnitude 8.0 earthquake
• Damghan is located in upper Iran, not far
from Ardabil, so of course their
catastrophic quakes were no coincidence
7. The 1138 “Aleppo” earthquake
– Syria
• Starting on October 11th, this Syrian city–
the region’s largest just east of the
Mediterranean–was ripped to pieces by a
magnitude 8.5 earthquake
• Although one is left with the impression
that the city was leveled, it did not bear the
brunt of the quake and some buildings
were left standing. A citadel, like the one
above, collapsed, killing all 600
inhabitants.
• 230,000 unfortunate souls lost their lives.
6. 2004 “Indian Ocean”
earthquake
• Just before 1 AM on December 26th, 2004, a
mega thrust earthquake occurred off the coast
of Sumatra underwater.
• The earthquake itself did not cause any
human deaths, but its aftereffects–tsunamis–
ended up costing over 230,000 lives.
• Due to its location, the earthquake affected
nearly 20 countries and displaced 1.69 million
people
• With a magnitude of 9.3, it is also the second
largest earthquake ever recorded and caused
the planet to vibrate 1 centimetre.
5. 2010 “Haiti” earthquake
• Striking at 4:53 PM on the 12th of January,
this magnitude 7 earthquake ended up
killing over 230,000 people.
• Although the magnitude is lower than has hit
other cities with less destruction, Haiti is one
of the most impoverished nations on the
planet.
• The earthquake either destroyed or severely
damaged all hospitals in Port-Au-Prince,
communications systems, and air, land, and
sea transport facilities, which has severely
hampered rescue and humanitarian aid
efforts.
4. 1920 “Haiyuan” earthquake –
China
• Striking at 8:06 PM on December 16th, this
earthquake struck with a ferocity of 7.8,
although conflicting reports state it as high as
8.5.
• In Heiyuan County alone it killed over 73,000
people, but ended up causing a total death toll
of 240,000.
• Heiyuan County is located in northcentral
China, so the effects were felt far and wide; it
caused several rivers to change course and
visibly fissured the earth in several places.
Sadly, it triggered a landslide that ended up
completely burying the village of Sujiahe.
3. 1976 “Tangshan” earthquake –
China
• Claiming 242,000 lives at a quarter to 4
AM on July 27th, this 7.8 magnitude quake
came as a shock to many in the region.
• Being located in northeast China with most
of its buildings on soft alluvial soil, the city
of Tangshan was nearly completely
flattened with many deaths coming after
the earthquake itself; many were trapped
in collapsed buildings.
2. 526 “Antioch” earthquake –
Turkey
• Taking place in southeastern Turkey, this
quake took place in late may and ended
up killing 250,000 people.
• Unfortunately, the earthquake was
followed by a fire that ended up destroying
all of the buildings spared by the tremor
itself.
• In Seleucia Pereia, the earthquake lifted
the harbor nearly 1 meter from the ground,
rendering the port useless.
1. 1556 “Shaanxi” earthquake –
China
• By far the deadliest earthquake in history
occurred nearly 500 years ago in China. Located
just east of the center of modern-day China, the
Shaanxi province was struck by a magnitude 8
earthquake that ended up killing over 830,000
people.
• A staggering 840-kilometer-wide area was
leveled and some counties reported a death toll
of up to 60% of their total population.
• Despite being of a lower magnitude, millions at
the time lived in loess caves in high cliffs, which
are soft clay that are prone to erosion. When the
quake struck, their homes collapsed and trapped
nearly a million people.