Largest and deadliest earthquakes
Several million earthquakes occur each year but they are small. Earthquake centers locate about 20,000 earthquakes every year – about 50 earthquakes every day. On average, up to 19 earthquakes in a year have a magnitude of 7.0 or higher.
The world’s deadliest earthquakes are not necessarily those with the highest magnitude but those big earthquakes that occur in densely populated areas. Some of the largest earthquakes on record occurred offshore or in remote areas.
Largest earthquakes
| Magnitude | Location | Killed | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.5 | Valdivia, Chile | 5,000 | May 22, 1960 |
| 9.2 | Sumatra, Indonesia | 240,000 | Dec 26, 2004 |
| 9.2 | Prince William Sound, Alaska | 131 | Mar 28, 1964 |
| 9.0 | Kamchatka, Soviet Union | 0 | Nov 4, 1952 |
| 9.0 | Cascadia zone (CA, OR, WA) | not known | Jan 26, 1700 |
| 9.0 | Arica, Peru | 25,000 | Aug 13, 1868 |
| 8.8 | Esmeraldas, Ecuador | 1,000 | Jan 31, 1906 |
| 8.8 | Offshore Maule, Chile | 300 | Feb 27, 2010 |
| 8.7 | Rat Island, Alaska | 0 | Feb 4, 1965 |
| 8.7 | Valparasio, Chile | not known | 3768505 |
| 8.7 | Lisbon, Portugal | 70,000 | Nov 1, 1755 |
Deadliest earthquakes
| Magnitude | Location | Killed | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.0 | Shaanxi, China | 830,000 | Jan 23, 1556 |
| 7.5 | Tangshan, China | 250,000 | Jul 2, 1976 |
| ? | Aleppo, Syria | 230,000 | Aug 9, 1138 |
| 9.2 | Sumatra, Indonesia | 228,000 | Dec 26, 2004 |
| ? | Damghan, Iran | 200,000 | Dec 22, 856 |
| 9.0 | Arica, Peru | 25,000+ | Aug 13, 1868 |
| 7.8 | Haiyuan, Ningxia, China | 200,000 | Dec 16, 1920 |
| 7.0 | Port-au-Prince, Haiti | 200,000 | Jan 12, 2010 |
| 8.7 | Ardabil, Iran | 150,000 | Mar 23, 893 |
| 7.9 | Kanto, Japan | 142,800 | Sep 1, 1923 |
| 7.3 | Ashgabat, Turkmenistan | 110,000 | Oct 5, 1948 |
Source : USGS