Just recently, one of the strongest earthquakes in the history of the state of California occurred in the western United States. Hundreds of thousands of houses were left without electricity. Infrastructure and roads were partially destroyed. Fortunately, this time there were no casualties. Every year around 100,000 earthquakes of various strengths occur in the world. Of these, about 100 are especially strong. The strongest earthquakes occur much less frequently, but often turn out to be catastrophic. With a lot of casualties and destruction. However, in the history of the Earth there were also earthquakes that were included in textbooks as the deadliest. The number of victims in them was in the hundreds of thousands. We will remind you of such earthquakes today.
The most devastating earthquake in Japanese history
On September 1, 1923, Japan's Kanto region was hit by one of the deadliest earthquakes in human history. Its magnitude was 8.3 points. It almost completely destroyed Tokyo and Yokohama.
According to official figures, the death toll was 174 thousand people. 542,000 people are missing. The total number of victims is about 4 million people. Of 694,000 houses and buildings, about 381,000 were completely or partially destroyed.
Deadliest earthquake in Iran
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The impact force of the earthquake that occurred in Damgan on December 22, 856 was 7.9 points. As it was established later, the epicenter was located near the city itself.
The complex surrounding geology of this region has increased the zone of maximum destruction, which is about 350 kilometers along the Alborz Mountains. Destruction took place in the cities of Akhevanu, Astana, Tash, Bastam and Shahrud. All the villages next to them suffered greatly or were completely destroyed. The disaster claimed the lives of about 200,000 people.
Earthquake in Haiti. Over 200,000 victims
The earthquake in the Republic of Haiti on 12 January 2010 killed 222,570 people. According to official figures, 311,000 people were injured in various ways. 869 people are missing.
The amount of material damage from the disaster that happened was 5.6 billion euros. The epicenter of the earthquake was 22 kilometers from the capital of the Republic of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. The strength of the first earthquake was 7 points. After that, many repeated were recorded. The strength of some was more than 5 points.
Earthquake in Ganja
On September 30, 1139, an earthquake occurred near the city of Ganja, killing about 230,000 people. According to historians, the blow of the elements was so powerful that because of it, Mount Kapaz collapsed, blocking the bed of the Akhsu River that ran through it.
Lake Goygol.
As a result, eight lakes were formed in the region - one of them is Goygol. Now it is part of the Goygol Nature Reserve, which was established in 1965.
Earthquake in Aleppo
A year earlier, another of the deadliest earthquakes in history had occurred. On October 11, 1138, an element of magnitude 8.5 killed over 230,000 people.
Aleppo's population recovered only after several centuries. The earthquake in Aleppo was part of a series of earthquakes that occurred in 1138-1139 and covered the territories of modern northern Syria, southwestern Turkey, and later Iran and Azerbaijan.
The deadliest earthquake in modern history occurred in the Indian Ocean
According to various estimates, from 228,000 to 300,000 people died in it. The earthquake began on December 26, 2004 in the Indian Ocean near the island of Sumatra.
The aftermath of the tsunami on the island of Sumatra.
According to various estimates, the magnitude of the earthquake itself ranged from 9.1 to 9.3 points. It is one of the three most powerful in history. The earthquake caused a tsunami, the waves of which reached the coast of 14 countries. It even reached the coast of Port Elizabeth in South Africa, despite the fact that it was 6900 kilometers from the epicenter. In some cases, waves above 20 meters reached the coasts.
Earthquake in Gansu and Shaanxi. One of the most tragic
On December 16, 1920, a devastating earthquake hit the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi. The force of his first blow was 7.8 points. This was followed by a series of aftershocks that lasted for three minutes. They were so powerful that the crust that emerged from behind them buried entire villages.
The total death toll in this natural disaster was 270,000. Many people died from the cold as they lost their homes. A total of seven Chinese provinces and regions were affected. The area of destruction was 3.8 thousand square kilometers.
The largest earthquake in the history of the Byzantine Empire. Antioch earthquake of 526
According to historians, the earthquake killed 250,000 people.
It happened in Antioch, which was part of Byzantium, covering the adjacent regions of Syria. The earthquake-triggered fires destroyed most of the remaining buildings.
Most devastating earthquake in Tangshan
A catastrophic earthquake struck the Chinese city of Tangshan on July 28, 1976. Its magnitude was 7.8 points. From the very first blow, 90 percent of all city buildings were destroyed.
According to official data, the disaster claimed 242,419 human lives. According to unofficial sources - up to 655,000. The terrifying number of human victims is explained by the fact that the main impact of the earthquake occurred at night. Almost all residents of the city were asleep at that moment.
The deadliest earthquake ever. China again
The deadliest earthquake in human history occurred in Shaanxi Province on January 23, 1556. The Great China Earthquake. More than 830,000 people died in it! At the epicenter, 20-meter dips and cracks opened. The destruction affected the territories located five hundred kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake.
Such huge human sacrifices are explained by the fact that the bulk of people lived in fragile houses, as well as in caves dug right in the hillsides. After the very first aftershocks, the buildings began to sink into the loose soil, and the caves collapsed and were flooded with mudflows.
The most powerful earthquake in history. Chile, 1960
In a separate line, I would like to recall the most powerful earthquake in the history of mankind. It happened on May 22, 1960 in Chile. It is also called the Great Chilean Earthquake. Its magnitude was 9.5 points.
Strong aftershocks shook an area of 200,000 square kilometers. The earthquake caused a tsunami, the waves of which reached a height of 10 meters. They even reached the city of Hilo in Hawaii, about 10 thousand kilometers from the epicenter and caused significant damage. The remains of the tsunami were observed even off the coast of Japan and the Philippines.
The magnitude of the tsunami caused by the 1960 Chile earthquake.
Surprisingly, despite such a terrifying scale, the number of victims in this earthquake was less than for others on the list above. This is explained by the fact that the main blow fell on sparsely populated areas. As a result of this earthquake, 6 thousand people died.
The worst earthquake in the history of the USSR
On December 7, 1988, the worst earthquake in the history of the USSR occurred. In the north-west of the Armenian SSR, a natural disaster struck in the city of Spitak, which claimed the lives of 25,000 people and covered almost 40 percent of the territory of Armenia. As a result of this disaster, 140,000 people became disabled, 514,000 were left homeless.
The magnitude of the earthquake was 6.8 points. The city itself, in which the epicenter was located, as well as 58 nearby villages were destroyed to the ground. A series of tremors caused significant damage to 21 cities and 300 settlements. The total damage from the earthquake was about 10 billion rubles.
Nikolay Khizhnyak