Top 10 biggest earthquake ever recorded in history

Earthquakes have changed history. It has been one of the unstoppable forces that can’t be even purely foretold by science. The hypothesis to forestall earthquakes isn’t still effective. The earthquake created a massive loss of human life and destroyed the country’s infrastructure, which needed ages to recover. Earthquakes are often caused by the rupture of geological faults. It is also caused by several events like landslides, volcanic activity, nuclear tests, etc. Many campaigns have been organized by different organizations to indoctrinate people about the earthquake. Education helps a lot to make people aware of the vulnerability of earthquakes. Also, it has created a new concept in architectural design to make the building earthquake-resistant. All earthquakes are not dangerous. Roughly the earthquake over magnitude 7 or over is potentially marked as unsafe. Below are the lists of the top 10 earthquakes in history.

10. Cascadia earthquake(1700)

Location: Pacific Ocean, USA, and Canada | Date: January 26, 1700, | Magnetite: 8.7-9.2

The Cascadia earthquake occurred at 9: pm pacific standard time at the rate of 8.7 to 9.2 magnitudes. The book name “The Orphan Tsunami of 1700” provides evidence of the occurrence of earthquakes. The timing had been determined through the Japanese records of a tsunami. The quake caused a tsunami that damaged the coastal villages. There is no precise data about the earthquake’s property damage and human life loss.

9. Chile earthquake(2010)

Location: Chile earthquake | Date: November 25, 1833, | Magnetite: 8.8-9.2

Chile was struck by an earthquake on the coast of central Chile on Saturday, February 27, 2010, at (06:34 UTC). It lasted for about 3 minutes and was of magnitude 8.8. The earthquake resulted in a tsunami that struck several coastal towns in south-central Chile. Several military troops handle the different affected areas. The causalities weren’t that high. Around 9% of people became homeless, 525 lost their lives, and 25 were missing. The earthquake creates property damage of approximately 15-20 million. It was the strongest earthquake that affected Chile after the Valdivia earthquake in 1960. Several aftershocks of different magnetite were affected after the earthquake.

8. Ecuador Colombia earthquake(1906)

Location:  Sumatra, Indonesia| Date: November 25, 1833 | Magnetite: 8.8-9.2

Ecuador Colombia Earthquake occurred at 15:36 UTC on January 31 with a magnitude of 8.8. The earthquake resulted in a destructive tsunami that caused around 500 causalities. The liver damage is less due to the thin population. Approximately 500-1500 people have lost their life. However, there is no exact, reliable data to reply on.

7. Sumatra earthquake(1833)

Location: Pacific Ocean, USA, and Canada | Date: November 25, 1833, | Magnetite: 8.8-9.2

The Sumatra earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.8 -9.2, occurred on November 25, 1833. The quake lasted for 5 minutes in Bengkulu and 3 minutes in Padang. There is no exact data on property damage and loss of life. However, the tsunami devastated the southwest coast of Sumatra from parliament Bengkulu.

6. Africa Chile earthquake (1615)

Location: Arica, Chile | Date: September 16, 1615 | Magnetite: 8.8

This was another devastating earthquake in Chile, Africa earthquake was on occurred on September 16, 1615. Over 1 to 5 million properties were destroyed. It was the oldest earthquake ever recorded that occurred in the 16th century.

5. Tōhoku Japan earthquake (2011)

Location: Tōhoku Japan | Date: March 11, 2011, | Magnetite: 9

Japan was stuck by an earthquake off the coast of Honshu on March 11, 2011 (05:46:23 UTC), resulting in one of Japan’s most significant earthquakes. The quake resulted in a giant tsunami that resulted in 15881 deaths, 6142 injured, and 2668 people lost and missing. An enormous amount of property was damaged. The quake also brought severe crises to Nepal, where around 4.4 million households in northern and eastern Japan were left without electricity and 1.5 million without water. The tsunami caused nuclear accidents, primarily the level 7 meltdowns. It lasted up to 5 minutes. The earthquake resulted in losses of around $14.5 to $36.6 billion.

 4. Kamchatka Russia earthquakes (1952)

Location: Kamchatka Russia | Date: November 4, 1952 | Magnetite: 9

The Kamchatka earthquake was another destructive earthquake that occurred at 16:58 GMT (04:58 local time) on November 4, 1952. The quake was measured at 8.2 magnitudes. However, it was revised to 9 Magnitude in later years. The earthquake resulted in colossal property damage, around 1 million USD, including several lives. The tsunami reached Japan, Alaska, Chile, and Newzealand. There was no property damage or life loss in Japan. The tsunami waves reached a height of up to 1m in New Zealand. In Alaska, the waves reached up to 1.4 meters.

3. Indian Ocean earthquake (2004)

Location: Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia | Date: December 26, 2004, | Magnetite: 9.1

Indian Ocean Tsunami induced by the earthquake was another horror earthquake and tsunami that damaged $10 billion in property, caused 230,000 death from 14 countries, 500,00 injuries, and 5 million lost their home. It occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was also the scariest and deadliest natural disaster recorded in history. The earthquake and tsunami hit various countries, but Indonesia was the primary victim, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. It was the longest earthquake that occurred between 8.3 to 10 minutes.

2. Prince William Sound, Alaska (1964)

Location: Alaska, USA | Date: March 27, 1964, | Magnetite: 9.2

The great Alaska Earthquake occurred in Southeastern Alaska on March 27, 1964, at (03:36 3/28 UTC ). It was the second-largest earthquake ever recorded and the largest ever recorded in northern America. The quake struck large landslides and tsunamis at different nearest locations. The tsunami wave killed 199 people and caused approximately 300-400 million dollars in property damage in Alaska. The death number is relatively low compared to the earthquake magnitude due to low population density. The tsunami also generates the largest waves outside of Alaska along the pacific coasts of Canada. TI caused approximately 5 million dollars in property damage in Canada.

1. Valdivia earthquake (1960)

Location: Valdivia, Chile | Date: May 22, 1960, | Magnetite: 9.5

The Valdivia earthquake was the largest earthquake ever recorded by the instrument. It originated on southern Chile’s coast on May 22, 1960. The quake occurred at 7:11 PM, 100 miles off the coast of Chile, parallel to Valdivia. It was recorded with a magnitude of 9.5 by the United States geological survey, the largest earthquake ever recorded by instruments. The quake occurred in the afternoon (19:11 GMT -14:11 local time). The earthquake created massive destruction: 1,655 were killed, 3,000 were injured, 2,000,000 were homeless, and $550 million was damaged in southern Chile. The trembling earthquake caused the tsunami that affected Japan,  Hawaii,  southern Chile, eastern New Zealand, the Philippines, and southeast Australia. The tsunami caused 32 dead and missing in the Philippines and $500,000 in damage to the west coast of the United States, 138 deaths, and $50 million in damage in Japan. The casualties and property damage were primarily due to the tsunami caused by the earthquake in several countries.

Final Conclusion: Earthquake has occurred several times in history. Some have changed the structure of the nation forever. The biggest earthquake in the past sometimes brought substantial attention to the country to follow different paths to prevent them.