10 Most Powerful Earthquakes in Earth's History

 10 Most Powerful Earthquakes in Earth's History

Table of Contents

·         10. Sumatra Earthquake (2012)– 8.6

·         9. Assam-Tibet Earthquake (1950) – 8.6

·         8. Rat Islands Earthquake(1965) – 8.7

·         7. Ecuador-Colombia Earthquake (1906) – 8.8

·         6. Maule(Chile) Earthquake (2010)– 8.8

·         5. Kamchatka, Russia Earthquake (1952) – 9.0

·         4. Tahoka Earthquake (2011) – 9.1

·         3. Sumatra Earthquake (2004)– 9.1

·         2. Great Alaska Earthquake (1964)– 9.2

·         1.  Valdivia Earthquake (1960)– 9.5

10. Sumatra Earthquake (2012)

8.6a On April 11, 2012, at 15.38 local time, an 8.6 magnitude undersea earthquake struck the Indian Ocean close to the Indonesian city of Aceh. These were unusually powerful intraplate earthquakes and the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded, but authorities canceled the tsunami call.

It happened very far from a place where people live, and there was no devastating tsunami (10 cm to 0.8 meters, or 3.9 inches to 31.4 inches, were reported). Ten deaths and twelve injuries were reported, the majority of which were the result of panic or a heart attack.

9. Assam-Tibet Earthquake (1950)

8.6 On August 15, 1950, an earthquake struck the Xizang-India border region, with the epicenter near Rima, Tibet. As a result of the earthquake, numerous buildings were damaged, and anywhere from 1.500 to 3.000 people were killed.

The Subansiri River was obstructed by large landslides following the earthquake. Eight days later, this natural dam gave way, causing a wave that was 7 meters (23 feet) high and inundating several villages, killing 536 people.

Additionally, approximately 5,000,000 people became homeless as a result of the earthquake.

8. Rat Islands Earthquake (1965)

 8.7 The 1965 Rat Islands Earthquake took place on February 4 at 05:01 UTC, which is 19:01 local time. It caused a tsunami on Alaska's Shemya Island of more than 10 meters (33 feet), but due to its remote location, it did very little damage.

7. Ecuador-Colombia Earthquake (1906)

 8.8 The 1906 Ecuador–Colombia earthquake occurred on January 31 at 15:36 UTC near Esmeraldas, an Ecuadorian coastal city in the northwestern part of the country. The deaths were caused by massive tsunamis of up to 5 meters (16 feet) in height.

6. 8.8 2010 Maule Earthquake

also known as the 2010 Chile Earthquake, struck approximately 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) off the coast of Pelluhue commune in the Maule Region, Chile, on Saturday, February 27 at 03:34 local time (06:34 UTC). About three minutes passed before the intense shaking subsided. The tsunami brought on by the earthquake devastated several coastal towns in central Chile. The Talcahuano port was also damaged by the tsunami.

Numerous deaths were caused by building collapses in numerous cities, including Santiago, the capital. In January 2011, the authorities revealed that 525 people had died and 25 were still missing.

5. Earthquake in Kamchatka

Russia (1952): 9.0 On November 4, 1952, at 16:58 GMT (04:58 local time), a massive earthquake occurred off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, which is in the far east of Russia. The Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands sustained significant damage, and between 10,000 and 15,000 people were reported to have died as a result of the massive, destructive tsunami that swept across the entire Pacific. Wave heights of up to 50 feet were recorded. The Hawaiian Islands were also severely affected, but the tsunami did not cause any deaths. The waves reached Chile, Peru, and New Zealand. Tsunami waves of up to 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) were observed in Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and California.

4. Tohoku Earthquake (2011)

9.1 On March 11, 2011, a massive undersea megathrust earthquake note 1 occurred off the coast of Japan at 14:46 local time (05:46 UTC). A massive tsunami with waves as high as 40.5 meters (133 feet) was brought on by the earthquake. The waves traveled as far inland as 6 miles (10 km) and caused extensive and severe structural damage in north-eastern Japan—one of the deadliest events in human history. 127,290 buildings collapsed completely, 272,788 buildings collapsed in half, and another 747,989 buildings were damaged partially, along with roads, railroads, and airports. A dam gave way. The tsunami also caused nuclear accidents, most notably the level 7 meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex (level 7 means a major accident, highest level; see notes 2).

On March 10, 2015, it was announced that 15,894 people had died, 6,152 had been injured, and 2,562 people were still missing.

3. The 2004 Sumatra Earthquake

also known as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent history. On December 26, 2004, at 00:58:53 UTC, the epicenter was located off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. With a rupture that extended over 1500 kilometers (900 miles), it had the longest known fault. Up to a quarter of a million people lost their lives as a result of the tsunami, which had waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high.

Between 8.3 and 10 minutes, the earthquake's faulting was the longest ever observed. It caused a vibration of up to 0.4 inches (one centimeter) across the entire planet. The earthquake produced a total of 4.01022 joules (4.01029 ergs), which is equivalent to 9,600 gigatons of TNT, or 550 million times the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Underground was where the vast majority of this energy was. 26 megatons of TNT, or 1.11017 joules, of energy, were estimated to have been released on Earth's surface. This energy is less than that of the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated, but is more than 1,500 times greater than that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

The subsequent tsunami was referred to by some different names, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the South Asian tsunami, the Indonesian tsunami, the Christmas tsunami (where hundreds of thousands of Christian tourists were stranded), and the Boxing Day tsunami.

2. The 1964 Great Alaska earthquake

also known as the Good Friday earthquake, occurred in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska at 5:36 PM (local time, 3:36 UTC) on Good Friday, March 27. It was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, lasting about 4.5 minutes.

The tsunami of 27 feet (8.2 meters) caused by the earthquake destroyed the village of Chenega and killed 23 of its 68 residents. Outrunning the wave, survivors climbed to higher ground. Additionally, it triggered a significant underwater landslide. 30 people died when the docks and harbor of the city of Port Valdez collapsed.

It is believed that 139 individuals died: 15 as a direct result of the earthquake, 106 as a result of the tsunami that followed in Alaska, 5 as a result of the tsunami in Oregon, and 13 as a result of the tsunami in California

 1. The Valdivia Earthquake of 1960

magnitude 9.5, is also referred to as the Great Chilean earthquake (Spanish: Gran terremoto de Chile), it was the strongest known earthquake. On May 22, the earthquake struck approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the Chilean coast, parallel to the city of Valdivia (19:11 GMT, 15:11 local time). It started a massive tsunami with waves of up to 25 meters (82 feet) and lasted about 10 minutes. The main tsunami swept across the Pacific Ocean and devastated Hilo, Hawaii before wreaking havoc on the Chilean coast. Even 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) from the epicenter and as far away as Japan and the Philippines, waves as high as 10.7 meters (35 feet) were recorded.

The 1960 Valdivia Earthquake death toll is unknown; the earthquake's and tsunami's combined death toll has been estimated to be between 1,000 and 6,000. Three thousand people were injured.