The worst earthquake in the world. The most powerful earthquakes in human history

Millions of years ago, powerful earthquakes occurred every day on our home planet - the formation of the familiar appearance of the Earth was underway. Today we can say that seismic activity practically does not bother humanity.

However, sometimes violent activity in the bowels of the planet makes itself felt, and tremors lead to the destruction of buildings and the death of people. In today's selection we bring to your attention 10 most destructive earthquakes in modern history.

The force of the tremors reached 7.7 points. The earthquake in Gilan province led to the death of 40 thousand people, more than 6 thousand were injured. Significant destruction occurred in 9 cities and about 700 small villages.

9. Peru, May 31, 1970

The worst natural disaster in the country's history claimed the lives of 67 thousand Peruvians. The 7.5-magnitude tremor lasted about 45 seconds. As a result, landslides and floods occurred over a wide area, which led to truly devastating consequences.

8. China, May 12, 2008

A powerful earthquake in Sichuan province had a magnitude of 7.8 and led to the death of 69 thousand people. About 18 thousand are still considered missing, and more than 370 thousand were injured.

7. Pakistan, October 8, 2005

The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 killed 84 thousand people. The epicenter of the disaster was located in the Kashmir region. As a result of the earthquake, a gap 100 km long was formed on the surface of the Earth.

6. Türkiye, December 27, 1939

The force of the tremors during this destructive earthquake reached 8 points. Strong tremors continued for about a minute, and then followed by 7 so-called “aftershocks” - weaker echoes of the shaking. As a result of the disaster, 100 thousand people died.

5. Turkmen SSR, October 6, 1948

The force of the tremors at the epicenter of the powerful earthquake reached 10 points on the Richter scale. Ashgabat was almost completely destroyed, and, according to various estimates, from 100 to 165 thousand people became victims of the disaster. Every year on October 6, Turkmenistan celebrates the Day of Remembrance for Earthquake Victims.

4. Japan, September 1, 1923

The Great Kanto Earthquake, as the Japanese call it, almost completely destroyed Tokyo and Yokohama. The force of the tremors reached 8.3 points, as a result of which 174 thousand people died. Damage from the earthquake was estimated at $4.5 billion, which at that time was equal to two of the country's annual budgets.

3. Indonesia, December 26, 2004

A 9.3 magnitude undersea earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis that killed 230,000 people. As a result of the natural disaster, Asian countries, Indonesia and the east coast of Africa were affected.

2. China, July 28, 1976

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.2 killed almost 230 thousand people in the vicinity of the Chinese city of Tangshan. Many international experts believe that official statistics greatly underestimate the death toll, which could be as high as 800,000.

1. Haiti, January 12, 2010

Power the most destructive earthquake in the last 100 years was only 7 points, but the number of human casualties exceeded 232 thousand. Several million Haitians were left homeless, and the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, was almost completely destroyed. As a result, people were forced to survive for many months in conditions of devastation and unsanitary conditions, which led to the outbreak of a number of serious infections, including cholera.

The history of mankind remembers a lot of cataclysms, the most dangerous of which, for good reason, are earthquakes. The power of such natural incidents is assessed on the Richter scale. We propose to recall the top 10 most powerful earthquakes in the history of the Earth. We are talking about the most devastating seismic hazards that have taken the lives of millions of people. At the same time, humanity still remembers the dates of terrible events, which even modern technology and progress could not avoid. So, let's get started with the review:

TOP 10 most destructive earthquakes

It is worth noting that the strongest earthquakes in the history of the world were recorded in Chile. The last of these occurred in 2010. The power of magnetic influence on the Richter scale is estimated at 8.8 points. The epicenter of the threat was in the city of Bio-Bio Concepción. The residents of this locality and the city of Maule suffered the most. A total of 540 people died in Bio-Bio Concepción. In the territory of the second city, 64 people were injured. Approximately 2 million people were left homeless. In total, damage is estimated at $30 billion.

The tsunami that occurred on January 31 in Ecuador immediately hit the entire coast of Central America. A magnitude of 8.8 was recorded in San Francisco. The first wave even reached Japan. Fortunately, we managed to get by with a minimum number of casualties due to the low population density. According to preliminary estimates, 1,500 people were affected and left without homes. Due to the timely response of rescuers, no fatalities were found. However, the damage is estimated at $1.5 million.

One of the most powerful earthquakes in history is considered to be a seismic shock recorded in 1923 near the island of Oshima. As a result of the incident, nearly three hundred thousand buildings in Tokyo and Yokohama were destroyed. Over two days, 356 tremors occurred. As a result, the waves reached a height of 12 meters. The tsunami took the lives of 174 thousand people. About 542 thousand are considered missing. In total, damage is estimated at $4.5 billion.

As a result of this cataclysm, over 820 thousand people died. The number of victims is considered the most serious incident in history. The disaster went down in history due to its duration. The horror lasted for nearly three days. During this time, the entire component of Shaanxi province was destroyed, including 60% of the population of the locality. The epicenter affected three provinces, including Feinan and Huaxian. A magnetic source was recorded in the Wei Valley. It is difficult to assess the damage due to the time span of the events.

In 2011, a magnitude of 9.1 was recorded on the island of Honshu. The most powerful earthquake in the history of Japan occurred 130 kilometers from the city of Sendai. About 30 minutes later, a powerful tsunami hit the coast of the country, which destroyed 11 nuclear power units in 69 minutes. As a result, 6,000 people died. 2,000 Japanese were missing. In total, the country suffered $36.6 billion in damage. To this day, local residents remember March 11 with horror.

As a result of a powerful earthquake on November 5, 1952, a tsunami reached the city of Severo-Kurilsk. As a result of a seismic phenomenon with a magnitude of 9 points, a powerful tsunami destroyed the entire city. According to rough estimates, the wave took the lives of 2,336 people. At the same time, about 6,000 people are considered missing. The waves reached 18 meters in height. The damage even at that time was $1 million. A total of three waves were observed. The weakest of them reached a height of 15 meters.

On December 26, an underwater earthquake with a scale of 9.3 reached the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The source of the cataclysm was provoked by the most destructive tsunami in human history. Waves of 15 meters destroyed Sri Lanka, southern India and the coast of Indonesia. Even the people of Thailand suffered damage. The tsunami almost completely destroyed the infrastructure of eastern Sri Lanka. According to preliminary estimates, nearly 225 thousand people died. At the same time, another 300 thousand are considered missing. Preliminary estimates put the damage at $10 billion.

This happened in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Power is 9.2 points. The epicenter of the terrible earthquake was recorded 120 kilometers from the western part of Seward. The tremors led to the destruction of Kodiak Island and the city of Valdese. The shock itself killed 9 people. The tsunami killed 190 people. The mortality rate was reduced thanks to the timely detection of the threat. However, California suffered $200 million in damages. Destruction stretched from Canada to California.

The power of tremors is estimated by the amplitude of oscillations of the earth's crust from 1 to 10 points. Areas in mountainous areas are considered the most earthquake-prone. We present to you the most powerful earthquakes in history.

The worst earthquakes in history

The large number of victims is associated not so much with the strength of the tremors, but with their duration. Modern researchers can judge the consequences of the destruction of the earthquake in the 2nd century only from the surviving chronicles, according to which the cities of Catania, Messina and Ragusa in Sicily were practically destroyed, and the coastal cities of Akratiri and Paralimni in Cyprus were also covered by a strong wave.

Earthquake on the island of Haiti

Despite the fact that the earthquake occurred in 2010, Haitians still need humanitarian assistance and are also rebuilding settlements on their own. This is the second most powerful earthquake in Haiti, the first occurred in 1751 - then the cities had to be rebuilt over the next 15 years.

Earthquake in China

Within 6 months after the main earthquake, so-called aftershocks were repeatedly felt - repeated seismic tremors with a power of 1-2 points. This disaster occurred during the reign of Emperor Jiajing, so it is called the Great Jiajing Earthquake in Chinese history.

The most powerful earthquakes in Russia

Earthquake on Sakhalin

The most significant consequences were felt in Neftegorsk, which was 30 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake. Within 17 seconds, almost all houses were destroyed. The damage caused amounted to 2 trillion rubles, and the authorities decided not to restore the settlements, so this city is no longer indicated on the map of Russia.

More than 1,500 rescuers were involved in eliminating the consequences. 2,040 people died under the rubble. A chapel was built and a memorial was erected on the site of Neftegorsk.

Earthquake in Japan

Tremors in the Pacific Ocean caused a powerful tsunami, the height of the waves was 10 meters. As a result of the collapse of a large flow of water on the coast of Japan, a radiation accident occurred at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. Subsequently, for several months, residents of nearby areas were prohibited from drinking tap water due to its high cesium content.

In addition, the Japanese government ordered TEPCO, which owns the nuclear power plant, to compensate moral damages to 80 thousand residents forced to leave the contaminated areas.

The most powerful earthquake in the world

The strongest tremors were felt in the state of Assam, which was reduced to ruins as a result of the earthquake - more than two thousand houses were destroyed and more than six thousand people were killed. The total area of ​​the territories caught in the destruction zone was 390 thousand square kilometers.

According to the site, earthquakes also often occur in volcanically active areas. We present to you an article about the highest volcanoes in the world.
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Every year, more and more people on the planet turn their attention to natural disasters of various kinds. According to research in recent years, the Earth has entered an active phase of tectonic activity - it is well known that throughout its existence, the land topography and the outlines of the continents as a whole have repeatedly undergone various changes. If we take into account the contents of Plato's manuscripts, such semi-mythical great civilizations as Atlantis and Hyperborea disappeared from the face of the earth as a result of the tectonic activity of our planet. For this reason, many of our contemporaries are seriously thinking about the direction in which human civilization should develop so that we do not suffer the same sad fate. Perhaps we should finally understand that the Earth is a kind of gigantic living organism, any interference in the work of which can end very sadly for our world. The bowels of the planet should be used more carefully and economically by people for their own purposes. In this article we will look at the most destructive earthquakes in human history.

1. In the mid-16th century, in the city of Shenxi (China), the most destructive earthquake to date occurred, killing more than 800 thousand people!

2. In 1923, on the first day of autumn, the Japanese region of Southern Kanto felt the full force and power of tremors, which, according to some estimates, was about 12 points. In this region there are megacities such as Yokohama and Tokyo. More than 150 thousand people became victims of the disaster.

3. August 15, 1950 year, the most powerful earthquake was recorded in the Indian city of Assami (India), which claimed the lives of “only” 1000 people - the fact is that it was impossible to measure its strength on the Richter scale due to the excessive scale of the instrument’s needles. A short time later, seismologists officially attributed the element to 9 points on the Richter scale. However, it was so powerful that it even sowed a certain panic among scientists - some of them initially believed that the epicenter of the earth's crust was located in Japan, while others believed that it was in the United States.

As for the Indian state of Assam, the situation here was also very ambiguous - for a week in a row, powerful tremors shook the surface of the earth, every now and then forming faults and failures, swallowing entire villages along with their inhabitants without a trace. All this was accompanied by constant emissions of fountains of hot steam and superheated liquid into the sky. As a result of the damage received, many dams could not contain the pressure of the water reserves stored in them - many cities and villages were simply flooded. Fleeing from certain death, residents climbed to the tops of trees, because not everyone knew the main ones. It should be noted that this year it was many times greater than the scale of destruction that was the result of the second most powerful earthquake that took place in these parts in 1897. The victims of the earlier disaster were 1,542 people.

4. 05/22/1960– on the outskirts of the Chilean city of Valdivia in the afternoon, the most powerful officially recorded earthquake occurred. The strength of the tremors of the Great Chilean Earthquake - this is the name given to this natural disaster - was approximately 9.3-9.5 points.

5. March 27, 1964 - in the American part of the Alaska Peninsula, closer to six o’clock local time, something happened that the locals could not even imagine. The force of the tremors was 9.2 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the disaster was at a depth of 20 kilometers in the northern part of the Gulf of Alaska. According to many scientists, it was this that caused the shift in the axis of rotation of our planet - as a result, its speed increased by 3 microseconds. The Great Chilean and Alaskan disasters are officially considered the most destructive and catastrophic in the history of mankind.

6. The earthquake that took place on July 28, 1976 late at night in the northeastern regions of China is considered the most destructive and terrible in terms of human casualties. Almost instantly, 650 thousand people became its victims - more than 780 thousand were injured and of varying degrees of severity. The strength of the shocks ranged from 7.9 to 8.2 points. The destruction was colossal. The epicenter of the disaster was located directly in Tangshan, a city with a population of millions. After several months, a huge space of ruins with a total area of ​​20 square kilometers remained on the site of the once flourishing, never-silent city.
According to eyewitnesses, shortly before the first wobble, the skies parted for many kilometers and shone with a bright light. At the end of the first blows, the plants and trees visually looked as if they had felt the effects of a steam roller. Some bushes were even burnt on some sides.

7. 7.12.1988— powerful tremors occurred on the territory of Armenia, the victims of which, according to the most conservative estimates, were 45 thousand people. Overnight, the city of Spitak, located near the epicenter, turned into a vast pile of ruins. Neighboring settlements - Kirovakan and Leninakan - were half destroyed. According to some calculations, the force of the shocks was almost 10 points on the Richter scale!

8. December 26, 2004- in the northwestern region of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, in the Indian Ocean, like a bolt from the blue, earthquakes with a magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3 on the Richter scale occurred. This disaster and the accompanying giant tsunami claimed the lives of more than 300 thousand people.

9. May 12-13, 2008– in the Chinese province of Sichuan, an earthquake with a power of 7.9 occurred, killing more than 70 thousand people.

10. March 11, 2011 One of the most powerful earthquakes of recent years occurred in Japan - its strength was estimated at 9 points on the Richter scale. The devastating consequences and the accompanying gigantic tsunami became the direct cause of a serious environmental disaster: the cooling systems of the nuclear power plant were damaged - the world was on the verge of radioactive pollution of the environment, which, to the deepest, could not be avoided. Albeit on a smaller scale, radiation leakage still occurred.

Occurred within a few minutes several miles off the coast of Haiti, their magnitudes were 7.0 and 5.9, respectively. In the capital of the republic, Port-au-Prince, several buildings collapsed as a result of two tremors. There are dead and wounded.

year 2009

In October, a series of strong earthquakes occurred in Sumatra (Indonesia). According to the UN, at least 1.1 thousand people were killed. Up to 4 thousand people were trapped under the rubble.

On the night of April 6, a devastating earthquake of magnitude 5.8 occurred near the historical city of L'Aquila in central Italy, killing 300 people, injuring 1.5 thousand, and more than 50 thousand were forced to flee their homes.

2008

On October 29, in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale with an epicenter 70 km north of the city of Quetta (700 kilometers southwest of Islamabad) killed up to 300 people.

On May 12, in the Sichuan province in southern China, 92 km from the administrative center of the province - the city of Chengdu, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.9 occurred, which claimed the lives of up to 87 thousand people, 370 thousand were injured, and 5 million residents were left homeless. The main earthquake was followed by over ten thousand aftershocks.

The Sichuan earthquake was the strongest in China since the Tangshan earthquake (1976), which claimed about 250,000 lives.

2007

On August 15, in Peru, in the department of Ica, 161 kilometers from the capital Lima, the strongest earthquake in recent years occurred. As a result of tremors measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, cities along the entire southern coast of the country were affected. At least 519 people were killed and about 1,500 people were injured. Almost 17 thousand people were left without electricity and telephone communications. The most affected cities were the southern coast, Chincha Alta, Pisco, Ica, as well as the capital Lima.

2006

On May 27, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the island of Java in Indonesia, killing 6,618 people. The city of Yogyakarta and its surrounding areas suffered the most. The earthquake destroyed about 200 thousand houses and seriously damaged the same number of buildings. About 647 thousand people were left homeless.

2005 year

On October 8, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale in Pakistan became the strongest on record in seismic observations in South Asia. According to official data, more than 73 thousand people died, including 17 thousand children. According to some estimates, the death toll was more than 100 thousand people. More than three million Pakistanis were left homeless.

On March 28, a powerful earthquake measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale occurred off the coast of the Indonesian island of Nias, located west of Sumatra. About 1,300 people died.

2004

On December 26, one of the most powerful and destructive earthquakes in modern history occurred off the eastern coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The tidal wave caused by this earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale hit the coasts of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

The total number of victims in the countries affected by the tsunami is still not known exactly, however, according to various sources, this figure is approximately 230 thousand people.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources