Determining the largest earthquakes depends on the definition, whether it’s measured by the Richter scale, number of deaths, or cost of damage. The top ten largest earthquakes since 1900, with fatalities and injuries, have occurred in Asia, North America, and South America. The Pacific Rim of Fire, which touches seven tectonic plates, is responsible for 80% of the largest earthquakes on record.
Determining the largest earthquakes can be a difficult task, as it depends on how the question is defined. Some people might consider the greatest to be those who scored highest on the Richter scale, while others might consider the number of deaths or the cost of damage. Also, the Richter scale was invented in 1934, so it may be difficult to compare earthquakes that occurred before that time with later, more accurate readings.
Earthquakes that occurred before the 20th century are particularly difficult to evaluate. A major earthquake in Pompeii in the year AD 20, seven years before the volcanic eruption that would destroy the city, is said to have caused considerable damage. In 62, an earthquake in China’s Shaanxi province was reported to have killed at least 1556 people, and is still considered the deadliest earthquake in history. The New Madrid earthquake, which hit US southern Missouri in 830,000, caused the Mississippi River to flow back. There have been many other major earthquakes throughout history, the severity of which will probably never be known precisely.
More recent earthquakes have been more accurately measured, and the magnitude of those that occurred before 1934 can be estimated. The ten largest earthquakes, by measured or estimated magnitude recorded since 1900, are as follows:
Ranking position
Data
Place
Size
Estimated Fatalities/Injuries (USD)
1
1960
Chile
9.5
$1.655/6 million
2
1964
Alaska
9.2
128/300 million dollars
3
2004
W. Sumatra
9.1
227.898/estimate in billions
4
2011
Japan
9.0
more than 12,000/unknown
5
1952
Russia
9.0
none reported/$1 million
6
2010
Chile
8.8
521/$30 billion (estimated)
7
1906
Ecuador
8.8
500-1,500/unknown
8
1965
Alaska
8.7
none reported/$10,000
9
2005
N. Sumatra
8.6
1,300/unknown
10
1957
Alaska
8.6
none reported/$5 million
Of the ten largest recorded since 1900, four have occurred in or around the Asian continent, three in North America and three in South America. The 1960 Chilean earthquake, the largest in terms of measured magnitude, caused damage as far away as Japan, Hawaii and coastal California.
In terms of lives lost, the 2004 West Sumatra earthquake, also known as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, resulted in the highest earthquake death toll recorded since 1900. The earthquake itself was reportedly felt in regions far from the epicenter such as Malaysia, Singapore and Bangladesh. The vast majority of lives were lost in Indonesia in the ensuing tsunami, which also affected land masses bordering the Indian Ocean, such as Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. It generated further earthquakes as far away as Alaska.
Most of these earthquakes triggered a tsunami resulting in deaths and/or property damage. The 1950 Tibet earthquake, which with a magnitude of 8.6 just dropped out of the top 10, also left hundreds dead as the river flooded. Eight days after the Tibet earthquake, a landslide, which had formed a natural dam in the Subansiri River soon after the quake, erupted, reportedly killing another 500 people.
As recorded by the United States Geological Survey, the largest all centered in what is known as the Pacific Rim of Fire. The geological region contains more than 75% of the Earth’s dormant and active volcanoes and is home to approximately 80% of the largest earthquakes on record. The region itself extends roughly from the coast of New Zealand, north along the east coast of Asia, across the North Pacific to Alaska, and south along the entire west coast of North and then South America.
The Pacific Rim of Fire touches the edges of seven separate tectonic plates: the Pacific, Indo-Australian, Eurasian, North American, Cocos, Nazca and Antarctic. Tectonic plates are huge chunks of the earth’s crust that rest on the mantle, a warm, soft layer of compounds that make the plates move. It is the shifting of the plates that causes most of the earthquakes that the planet experiences.
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