Worst Earthquakes in Terms of Intensity in Human History
Earthquake refers to the shaking of earth’s crust owing to a sudden release of energy in the Lithosphere — the upper layer of earth. Earthquakes bring massive losses to human settlements, crops, and animals. Following are the worst earthquakes that have ever occurred in human history.
1) 22 May 1960:
The earthquake in Chile was the strongest ever recorded — with a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale — as well as felt in Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, Australia and Alaska. This earthquake claimed between 2500 and 6000 deaths, and the damage was estimated at $5.8 billion as per the data of 2010.
2) 28 March 1964:
The earthquake, known as the Great Alaska Earthquake, is the second worst earthquake in history — with a magnitude of 9.2. Due to this earthquake, the land was raised up to 11 meters from its place. The Alaska earthquake killed 128 people and caused $311 million in damage.
3) 26 December 2004:
In 2004, the earthquake and tsunami hit the Indonesian island and Asian coast. This earthquake occurred with a magnitude of 9.1, resulting a great damage to the region.
4) 4 November 1952:
The epicentre of this earthquake was the volcano of the Russian Peninsula. The earthquake, which measured 9 on the Richter scale, amazingly caused no casualties but resulted in millions of dollars in financial losses.
5) 27 Febraury 2010:
The magnitude of this earthquake in Chile was recorded at 8.8 on the Richter scale. The disaster killed 521 people, injured 12,000 and caused 800,000 people homeless. It claimed around $30 billion in damage.
6) 13 January 1906:
Ecuador and Colombia had an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in 1906. 500 people died in the resulting tsunami, and around 1500 people kicked the bucket in the coastal areas of San Francisco. Also, millions of dollars in damage were also recorded.
7) 8 October 2005:
The 2005 earthquake occurred in Azad Jammu and Kashmir(AJK). Its epicenter was Muzaffarabad, with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale. It claimed over 80,000 casualties, injured more than 70,000 people and left 2.8 million displaced.
