Five Largest and Deadliest Earthquakes in World History

VIVA – Earthquakes are one of the most common natural phenomena, as recently happened in Indonesia, namely the Cianjur earthquake. Earthquakes usually cause a lot of destruction and loss of life.

In the world, the largest earthquake occurred in Chile, killing thousands of people. In Indonesia, there was also an earthquake accompanied by a tsunami that occurred several years ago, exactly in Banda Aceh. Here are some of the largest and deadliest earthquakes in world history, as reported by various sources.

1. Valdivia, Chile-May 22, 1960 (Magnitude 9.5)

The largest earthquake in history occurred in Chile precisely in Valdivia on May 22, 1960, which had a magnitude of 9.5. The earthquake killed nearly 1,655 people and more than 3,000 suffered serious and minor injuries.

In addition, about two million people had to be displaced which caused enormous losses of 550 million dollars or around of IDR 8.6 trillion at that time. The earthquake caused a tsunami that reached Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines.

Two days after the earthquake, the Puyehue volcano erupted and emitted ash and steam up to 6 km into the atmosphere for several weeks.

2. Prince William Sound, Alaska-March 28, 1964 (Magnitude 9.2)

In 1964, there was a great earthquake in Alaska, precisely in Prince William Sound. However, the earthquake was not as severe as in Chile and killed 128 people. The earthquake that occurred in Alaska cost 311 million dollars or around IDR 4.8 trillion at that time.

The earthquake caused a tsunami to Hawaii and the tremors reached Canada. The earthquake that struck Alaska lasted three minutes.

Most Indonesians are aware of the earthquake that struck Aceh on December 26, 2004. The earthquake caused a massive tsunami that killed an estimated 227,900 people and displaced around 1.7 million.

The earthquake affected 14 countries in South Asia and North Africa. The epicenter was in Banda Aceh, Indonesia at a depth of 30 KM.

Japan ranks fourth in the largest earthquakes in world history. The earthquake killed nearly 10,000,000 people and aftershocks caused a tsunami.

In addition, from the economic sector, Japan suffered huge losses plus the closure of the nuclear sector, which many industries in Japan relied on for power generation.

The earthquake in Kamchatka, Russia had a magnitude of 9.0 and the tsunami was felt as far away as Hawaii. Due to the earthquake, Russia suffered a considerable loss of one million dollar or around of IDR 15.6 billion at that time. However, there have been no reports of people being killed.