INSIGHT: The World’s Strongest Earthquakes Since 1900

(AP) —
In this image made from a video, people look over a car that was crushed when an overpass buckled in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Saturday, April 16, 2016. A powerful, 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Ecuador's central coast on Saturday, killing dozens of people and spreading panic hundreds of kilometers (miles) away as it collapsed homes and buckled a major overpass. (APTN via AP)
In this image taken from video, people look over a car that was crushed when an overpass buckled in Guayaquil, Ecuador, April 16. (APTN via AP)

A magnitude-7.8 earthquake shook Ecuador’s central coast on Saturday. The country’s vice president called it the strongest to hit the country in decades. Here is a list of some of the world’s strongest earthquakes since 1900:

May 22, 1960: A magnitude-9.5 earthquake in southern Chile and ensuing tsunami kill at least 1,716 people.

March 28, 1964: A magnitude-9.2 quake in Prince William Sound, Alaska, kills 131 people, including 128 from a tsunami.

Dec. 26, 2004: A magnitude-9.1 quake in Indonesia triggers an Indian Ocean tsunami, killing 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

March 11, 2011: A magnitude-9.0 quake off the northeast coast of Japan triggers a tsunami, killing more than 18,000 people.

Nov. 4, 1952: A magnitude-9.0 quake in Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East causes damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter (30-foot) waves in Hawaii.

Feb. 27, 2010: A magnitude-8.8 quake shakes Chile, generating a tsunami and killing 524 people.

Jan. 31, 1906: A magnitude-8.8 quake off the coast of Ecuador generates a tsunami that kills at least 500 people.

Feb. 4, 1965: A magnitude-8.7 quake strikes Alaska’s Rat Islands, causing an 11-meter (35-foot) high tsunami.

March 28, 2005: A magnitude-8.6 quake in northern Sumatra in Indonesia kills about 1,300 people.

Aug. 15, 1950: A magnitude-8.6 earthquake in Tibet kills at least 780 people.

April 11, 2012: A magnitude-8.6 quake off the west coast of northern Sumatra in Indonesia triggers tsunami warnings in more than two dozen nations.

March 9, 1957: A magnitude-8.6 quake strikes the Andreanof Islands in Alaska and triggers a 16-meter (52-foot) high tsunami.

Sept. 12, 2007: A magnitude-8.5 quake near Sumatra in Indonesia kills at least 25 people.

Feb. 1, 1938: A magnitude-8.5 quake in Banda Sea, Indonesia, generates a small tsunami.

Feb. 3, 1923: A magnitude-8.5 quake in Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East triggers a tsunami.

Nov. 11, 1922: A magnitude-8.5 quake along the Chile-Argentina border triggers a tsunami that causes damage along Chile’s coast.

Oct. 13, 1963: A magnitude-8.5 quake in the Kuril Islands triggers a tsunami.

Sept. 16, 2015: A magnitude-8.3 earthquake in Illapel, Chile, kills 14 people.

Dec. 12, 1979: A magnitude-8.2 earthquake near the Ecuadorean port city of Tumaco triggers a tsunami.

Recent major earthquakes:

April 25, 2015: A magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Nepal kills more than 8,000 people.

March 2, 2016: A magnitude-7.8 earthquake strikes in the Indian Ocean, 800 kilometers (500 miles) southwest of Sumatra in Indonesia. Tsunami warnings were briefly issued for Indonesia and Australia.

April 16, 2016: A magnitude-7.8 earthquake strikes on Ecuador’s central coast near the town of Muisne.

 

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!