An earthquake is a process of sudden release of energy in the earth’s crust. It is also created by the various activities such as nuclear testing, volcano eruption etc. Few earthquakes destroyed infrastructure and killed thousands of people. It can be incredibly dangerous if it triggers tsunamis or are centered near highly populated areas. It is a natural calamity that we can’t stop, but we can prepare our self for it. All the earthquake are not dangerous. The earthquake which has Richter magnitude scale of over 7 is listed as dangerous. The following is a list of Top 10 Largest Earthquakes Ever Recorded, according to earthquake magnitude and fatalities. Lets Look at theTop 10 Largest Earthquakes Ever.
Top 10 Largest Earthquakes Ever :
10. Chile Earthquake, 2010
The 2010 Chile earthquake occurred in central Chile on 27th February 2010. It has a magnitude of 8.8 and ranked as one of the largest earthquake ever to be recorded. Due to earthquake a tsunami triggered and damaged several coastal towns in south central Chile. It also generated a blackout that affected 93% of Chile population and damaged US $66 million to the fisheries business.
9. Ecuador-Colombia Earthquake, 1906
The Ecuador-Colombia earthquake occurred on 31st January near of the coast of Ecuador. The earthquake had a magnitude of 8.8 and stimulates a deadly tsunami. The rupture zone to this earthquake was over 500 km long. Total deaths by the tsunami estimates around 1000. The waves of the tsunami created by the earthquake gone up to a height of 5 meters.
8. Sumatra Earthquake, 1833
The Sumatra earthquake of 1833 occurred on 25th November and had an estimated magnitude of 8.8. It caused a large tsunami that flooded the southwest area of the island. There is no reliable record of the number of casualties. The tsunami was very devastating along the south-west coast from Pariaman to Bengkulu.
7. Arakan Earthquake, 1762
The Arakan earthquake of 1762 occurred on 2nd April with the estimated magnitude of 8.8. The epicenter of the earthquake was somewhere on the coast of Bangladesh. It provoked a tsunami in the Bay of Bengal and killed 200 people. Due to this earthquake, an area of 60 square miles permanently sinks beneath the sea.
6. Sanriku Earthquake, 1611
The Sanriku earthquake occurred on the 2nd of December. The magnitude of the earthquake was estimated at 8.9 and the epicenter was off the north coast of Sanriku. This is the first time when the word “Tsunami” is used. The tsunami reached to its maximum height of 20 meters and killed more than 5000 people.
5. Kamchatka Earthquake, 1952
There are numerous of earthquake occurred at Kamchatka but the 1952 Kamchatka earthquake was one of the largest earthquake ever recorded in history. The main earthquake was stuck on 4th November of 1952 of 9.0 magnitudes and damaged infrastructure of up to US $1 million. The effect of the earthquake was recorded over an area of 247,000 km square, but no human casualties were recorded.
4. Tohoku Earthquake, 2011
The 2011 earthquake of Tohoku occurred on 11th of March. It was the most powerful known earthquake to ever hit Japan, has a magnitude of 9.0. A Japanese police agency’s report conformed 15,884 deaths, 6147 injured and 2636 people missing. The World Bank estimated damage cost US $235 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in history.
3. Alaska Earthquake, 1964
The 1964 Alaska earthquake was a megathrust earthquake of magnitude of 9.2 occurred on 27th March. As a result tsunami triggered and killed 139 people. It was ranked as the most powerful recorded earthquake in the United States. The damages infrastructure cost estimates around US $311 million. There were thousands of aftershocks observed after the main earthquake eleven major aftershocks have magnitude of 6.2.
2. Indian Ocean Earthquake, 2004
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was a 9.3 magnitude earthquake and ranked the world’s second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. It majorly affects six countries including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Maldives, Somalia and Indonesia. It was one of the deadliest natural disaster killings over 230,000 people in fourteen countries. It caused the entire planet to vibrate and provoked other earthquakes in Alaska.
1. Valdivia Earthquake, 1960
The 1960 Valdivia earthquake was the largest earthquake ever recorded occurred on 22nd May. It is ranked as the deadliest and the most powerful earthquake has a magnitude of 9.5 on a seismograph. It affected manycountries including Japan, Hawaii, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Aleutian Islands. There is no exact report on infrastructure loss and casualties. Some sources have estimated the monetary cost of US $400 million and the casualties of around 6000.its the biggest earth quake in Top 10 Largest Earthquakes Ever.