While a 7-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco on Friday, causing considerable damage, the earthquake is not at this stage the most significant recorded since the turn of the 20th century. Here is a ranking of the 10 most powerful earthquakes since 1900.
Chili, 1960
The 1960 Valdivia, Chile earthquake was a mega earthquake that occurred on May 22, 1960 at 7:11 pm local time. Its magnitude, the highest ever recorded, was estimated at 9.52 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter is located in southern Chile near Lumaco, about 570 kilometers south of Santiago, Chile.
This earthquake, preceded by a series of earthquakes to the north of the earthquake, caused the Nazca plate to slide about eighteen meters under the Shiloh block and, possibly, a very small portion of the South American plate. The change in sea level at this point rose more than six meters, creating a tsunami that immediately devastated the coast of Chile. In total, the combination of the earthquake and tsunami caused between 3,000 and 6,000 deaths and two million homeless, mainly in Chile.
Alaska, 1964
The 1964 Alaska earthquake was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded on Earth, measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale. It struck Anchorage, Alaska on Friday, March 27, 1964 at 5:36 PM local time.
The epicenter was 90 km west of Valdez and 120 km east of Anchorage at a depth of 25 km. 131 people died in this earthquake. It generated a tsunami that killed 14 people in California and caused damage across the US West Coast.
Sumatra, 2004
The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was a magnitude 9.1 to 9.3 earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. This earthquake lies along the boundary of the Eurasian and Indo-Australian tectonic plates. The earthquake had the third most powerful magnitude ever recorded in the world and raised the sea floor by 6 meters over a length of 1,600 kilometers.
A few hours after the earthquake, a tsunami reaching a height of 35 meters hit the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and southern India, western Thailand and parts of East Africa. According to official estimates, the human toll is estimated to be at least 250,000 missing, including nearly 170,000 in Indonesia, 31,000 in Sri Lanka, 16,400 in India and 5,400 in Thailand. It was one of the ten most destructive earthquakes and the most severe tsunami in history.
Also, the total death toll may be higher due to the lack of civil status in some affected countries. For example, Somalia was a country in civil war and its tsunami death toll is questionable.
Japan, 2011
The 2011 Tohoku Pacific Coast Earthquake in Japan was a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the northeast coast of Honshu Island on March 11, 2011. The city is located about 300 km northeast of Tokyo.
The earthquake generated a tsunami whose waves reached a height of more than 30 meters in places. They traveled 10 km inland, devastated nearly 600 km of coastline and partially or completely destroyed many cities and port areas. The disaster left more than 18,000 dead and missing, injured and considerable destruction.
Russia, 1952
The 1952 earthquake on the Kamchatka Peninsula in present-day eastern Russia was the fifth most powerful earthquake of the 20th century. Rated 9 on the Richter scale, it occurred on November 4, 1952 at 10:28 pm local time and was caused by the Pacific Plate moving northeast relative to the Northern Plate.-American.
The earthquake was followed by several aftershocks of low magnitude and lasted for about seven minutes. It caused a devastating tsunami as far away as Chile and Peru, causing more than 2,300 deaths.
Ecuador, 1906
The January 31, 1906 earthquake off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia was the sixth largest earthquake recorded since 1900. The 8.8 magnitude earthquake was caused by the movement of the Nazca and South American plates.
The earthquake was followed by several low-level aftershocks that caused extensive damage in both countries. In Colombia, the city of Ipiales was badly affected and many towns and villages in the region were also damaged. About a thousand people died in the tsunami that followed the earthquake.
Chili, 2010
The earthquake that struck Chile at 3:34 a.m. local time on February 27, 2010 was the second strongest in the country’s history and the seventh strongest in the world since 1900. The quake was located 6.4 km off the coast in the Pacific Ocean. 325 km southwest of the capital Santiago de Chile. Its magnitude was recorded as 8.8 on the Richter scale.
The earthquake was followed by a tsunami that left a total of 525 people dead or missing.
Alaska, 1965
The 1965 Ely Islands earthquake was an earthquake that occurred on February 4, 1965 at 5:01 am local time. Its magnitude was measured at 8.7 and it triggered a tsunami with waves of more than 10 meters on the island of Shemia, seen in Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, California, Japan and eastern Russia, but it caused very little damage.
The Ely Islands are part of the Aleutian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands that form an island arc that resulted from the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the North American Plate. This plate boundary, the Alaska-Aleutian megahinch, has been the site of numerous earthquakes and mega-earthquakes.
Alaska, 1946
On April 1, 1946, an 8.6-magnitude earthquake in the Aleutian Islands (Alaska) caused a tsunami that killed 165 people, especially on the island of Hawaii, and caused more than $26 million in damage. It was the ninth most powerful earthquake recorded since 1900.
Sumatra, 2012
On Wednesday, April 11, 2012, at 2:38 PM local time, an earthquake measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Two hours later, a strong aftershock of 8.2 on the Richter scale raised fears of a major disaster. In the five hours following the main shock, 21 aftershocks of magnitude greater than 5 were detected and detected. However, despite strong sentiments from people, only 5 people were affected by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
The island is located on the boundary between the Australian Plate and the Sunda Plate. According to seismologists, the Australian plate is slowly subducting under the Sunda plate.
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