10 Largest Earthquakes Ever Recorded

10 Largest Earthquakes Ever Recorded

#10. MAGNITUDE 8.6 (2012). Sumatra, Indonesia - Located off the coast of northern Sumatra, this quake produced heavy shaking, but only a handful of fatalities, mostly caused by heart attacks.

#9. MAGNITUDE 8.6 (1950). Arunachal Pradesh, India - Referred to as the Assam-Tibet earthquake, this quake produced intense shaking, triggered sandblows, ground cracks, and large landslides across the region. All told, 780 people died.

#8. MAGNITUDE 8.7 (1965). Alaska, USA - Located near the Rat Islands of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, this earthquake generated a tsunami that was reportedly 35 feet high.

#7. MAGNITUDE 8.8 (1906). Esmeraldas, Ecuador - Referred to as the Ecuador-Colombia earthquake, this quake produced a strong tsunami that killed 1,500 and reached as far north as San Francisco.

#6. MAGNITUDE 8.8 (2010). Biobío, Chile - Occurring offshore near the city of Quirihue, this intense earthquake killed 523 people and destroyed more than 370,000 homes.

#5. MAGNITUDE 9.0 (1952). Kamchatka Krai, Russia - The world's first recorded magnitude 9 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that struck Hawaii, causing over $1 million in damages.

#4. MAGNITUDE 9.1 (2011). Tōhoku, Japan - Named the Great Tōhoku earthquake, this quake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 15,000 people and displaced 130,000 more.

#3. MAGNITUDE 9.1 (2004). Sumatra, Indonesia -The Sumatra-Andaman Islands earthquake triggered massive tsunamis and killed more than 280,000 people while displacing 1.1 million across South Asia and East Africa.

#2. MAGNITUDE 9.2 (1964). Alaska, USA - Often referred to as the Great Alaska earthquake, the Prince William Sound earthquake, or the Good Friday earthquake, this quake and ensuing tsunami killed 130 people and caused $2.3 billion in damage.

#1. MAGNITUDE 9.5 (1960). Biobío, Chile - Commonly referred to as the Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean earthquake, the largest earthquake ever killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless.

https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/science/20-largest-earthquakes-world-1900