Despite the rapid development of technology, humans are still vulnerable and defenseless to natural disasters, and one of the most terrible natural disasters is an earthquake. In the conditions of modern megacities, vulnerability increases even more, but humanity continues to follow the path of urbanization, as if it does not remember or does not learn the lessons of history. People have never learned to truly predict earthquakes. What is known is that they can appear even in areas that are traditionally considered earthquake-resistant.
It is also known that the earth is currently entering a phase of high seismic activity. And this fact excites the minds of many people who are able to look ahead. All disaster films are not just fiction, they are a warning to humanity that history, unfortunately, repeats itself. What is the history of the strongest earthquakes on earth?
The greatest earthquakes in terms of power and catastrophic consequences in the entire history of mankind are officially recognized as the great Chilean earthquake (May 22, 1960) and the great Alaskan earthquake (March 27, 1964). The first one arose 435 km south of Santiago (Chile) and was so powerful that the resulting 10-meter tsunami destroyed the city of Hilo on the Hawaiian Islands, 10,000 km from the epicenter! The tsunami then even reached the shores of Japan. The human victims of that earthquake (officially - 6 thousand people) died mainly from the tsunami.
Alaska earthquake
The Alaska earthquake occurred on Good Friday at a depth of 20,000 m in the northern Gulf of Alaska. In addition to destroyed settlements in Alaska and disfigured terrain, this earthquake led to a shift in the earth's axis and an acceleration of the planet's movement. The most powerful earthquake on the Richter scale is considered to be in Japan in 1923, the epicenter of which was Tokyo and Yokohama, the force of the tremors reached a maximum of 12 points, and about 150 thousand people were injured.
Greatest loss of life
China, as the most populous country, experienced the most severe earthquake in the world in terms of casualties. The earthquake in Shenxi, which occurred in the mid-16th century and claimed the lives of 800,000 people, is considered the most destructive to this day. No less catastrophic was the earthquake in northeast China on July 28, 1976, when 650,000 people died and more than 780,000 were injured.
Such dire consequences were explained by the fact that most of the victims lived in caves that were filled up and flooded by mudflows. All that was left of the million-strong city of Tangshan were ruins; even the trees looked like they had been left behind by a steam roller. This earthquake was preceded by an unusual celestial phenomenon - the heavens seemed to part and sparkle with a bright radiance. An earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 in the Indian Ocean (Sumatra Island) raised a giant tsunami that killed more than 300,000 people.
Chilean earthquake
Image by geokitta.blogspot.com
In terms of area coverage, the most powerful earthquake in the world occurred in India on August 15, 1960. This earthquake caused real panic among scientists because they could not determine either its strength (the instruments simply went off scale, so they officially declared a 9-magnitude element) or the epicenter. Some seismologists claimed that it was in India, others that it was in the USA, and still others that it was in Japan. In the end, it was agreed that the epicenter was in Assami, India.
For a whole week, this city and the surrounding area were shaken by powerful tremors, giant holes formed in the ground, in which many villages disappeared without a trace, and here and there giant columns of hot water and steam burst out of the ground. Also, due to the destruction of river dams, many settlements were flooded. But, oddly enough, only 1,000 people were declared dead.
Greatest damage to an individual state
Image – yk24.ru
December 10, 1988. A 10-magnitude earthquake occurred on the territory of the Armenian SSR, which completely destroyed the city of Spitak and half destroyed the cities of Leninakan and Kirovokan; according to the most conservative estimates, 45 thousand people were injured. The Armenian nuclear power plant was shut down in an emergency, and in general this earthquake destroyed 40% of the Armenian economy in a matter of minutes; it was the most powerful earthquake in the world in terms of the amount of damage for a single country.
The most serious threat to the world
Image – loveopium.ru
March 11, 2011 Japan experienced the most powerful earthquake in the world in terms of global threat. Due to the destruction at the nuclear power plant, there was a threat of radioactive contamination of the entire world ocean, at the cost of incredible efforts and human casualties, the catastrophic consequences were minimized, but radiation leakage still occurred. After this, Germany completely abandoned the development of nuclear energy, and the United States began to actively develop alternative methods of energy production.
We often imagine nature in the role of a kind of “caring grandmother,” admiring flowers, beautiful landscapes and watching a peacefully babbling brook. This impression is deceptive, as sometimes she shows her true strength.
An example of this is the most powerful earthquake in the world. More precisely, we will talk about several cases known to us, since different scientists and historians are not very similar in their assessments.
The sad list is crowned by the disaster that occurred in India. This happened not so long ago, in 1950. All old Hindus remember with horror the day when the earth split open and thousands of people disappeared without a trace into huge cracks in the earth. All this happened in the city of Assam, which was located on the eastern coast of the country.
Officially, this is the strongest earthquake in the world in the last millennium. Unfortunately, this event received a sad title for a reason.
In particular, none of the metering devices was able to record its real strength, as they were simply off scale. Official science later assigned it a score of 9, although all surviving Indian scientists from Assam unanimously insist that these figures are false, that in fact this monstrous earthquake was many times stronger.
Their words are fully confirmed by the information of their American colleagues, who, being many thousands of kilometers from the epicenter of the disaster, recorded its consequences without any instruments, since tremors of impressive force even reached the central states! This is truly the most powerful earthquake in the world.
On the same day, the alarm was sounded in Japan: the tremors detected by sensors were so strong that the country's civil defense forces cut off pipes, trying to find out in which prefecture such a strong earthquake was occurring.
What was their surprise and horror when they learned that the disaster that occurred in distant India had echoed with strong underground vibrations even among them!
This is the most powerful earthquake in the world, only due to the small size of the city (completely destroyed) and cost India a thousand dead. If something similar happened in Delhi, the consequences are scary to imagine...
Unfortunately, the Chinese are much less fortunate. In 1976, what all historians consider to be the most terrible cataclysm in the entire history of modern civilization occurred, meaning an incredible number of victims.
We are talking about a cataclysm in Hebei province. Then the strength of the underground rumors was “only” 8.2 points, which is much weaker than the Indian incident, but even according to official data, about 250 thousand people were among the dead.
A terrible number. Of course, this is not the strongest earthquake in history, but analysts believe that Chinese authorities underestimated the loss figures by 3-4 times.
What about our country? Are we really lucky to live in the most sustainable place on the planet? Unfortunately, it is not.
The most powerful one happened quite recently - on May 28, 1995 on Sakhalin. This is a dark day in our history. On that fateful morning, the force of the tremors was up to 10 points.
Due to the small population, everything could have worked out, but the city of Neftegorsk took the brunt of the attack, which after that ceased to exist. More than two thousand people died.
The most tragic thing is that graduates gathered at the local school that day. Of the 26 children, only nine survived.
More than 650 thousand people died and more than 780 thousand people were injured during a terrible earthquake in northeastern China. On the Richter scale, the force of the tremors reached 8.2 and 7.9 points, but in terms of the number of destructions it comes out on top. The first, stronger shock occurred on July 28, 1976 at 3:40 a.m., when almost all the residents were sleeping. The second, a few hours later, on the same day. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the city of Tangshan, a city with a population of one million. Even after several months, instead of a city, there remained a space of 20 square kilometers, which consisted entirely of ruins.
The most interesting evidence about the Tangshan earthquake was published in 1977 by Sinna and Larisa Lomnitz, at the National University of Mexico. They wrote that immediately before the first earthquake, the skies were illuminated with radiance for many kilometers around. And after the shock, the trees and plants around the city looked as if they had been run over by a steam roller, and the remaining bushes sticking out here and there were burned on one side.
One of the most powerful earthquakes in human history—measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale—struck the remote Gansu province of China in 1920. The powerful tremor turned the rickety, animal skin-covered homes of local residents into ruins. 10 ancient cities turned into ruins in one minute. 180 thousand inhabitants died and another 20 thousand died from the cold, left without their homes.
In addition to the destruction that was caused directly by the earthquake itself and the collapse of the earth's surface, the situation was aggravated by the landslides it provoked. Not only is the territory of Gansu a mountainous area. But it still abounds in caves with deposits of loess - fine and mobile sand. These strata, like streams of water, rushed down the slopes of the mountains, carrying with them heavy blocks of stone, as well as giant pieces of peat and turf.
3. The most powerful - by number of points
The most powerful earthquake, which even seismographs were unable to measure because the needles were too high, occurred on August 15, 1950 in Assam, India. It claimed the lives of more than 1000 people. Later, the earthquake began to be attributed to a force of 9 points on the Richter scale. The power of the tremors was so colossal that it caused confusion in the calculations of seismologists. American seismologists decided that it happened in Japan, and Japanese seismologists decided that it happened in the USA.
In the Assam zone the situation is no less complicated. Catastrophic tremors shook the earth for 5 days, opening holes and closing them again, sending fountains of hot steam and superheated liquid into the sky, swallowing entire villages. Dams were damaged, cities and towns were flooded. The local population fled from the elements in the trees. The destruction then exceeded the losses caused by the second most powerful earthquake, which occurred in the area in 1897. 1,542 people died then.
1) Tangshan earthquake (1976); 2) to Gansu (1920); 3) in Assam (India 1950); 4) in Messina (1908).
4. The most powerful thing in the history of Sicily
The Strait of Messina - between Sicily and the toe of the "Italian boot" - has always had a bad reputation. In ancient times, the Greeks believed that the terrible monsters Scylla and Charybdis lived there. In addition, over the centuries, earthquakes occurred from time to time in the area of the strait and surrounding areas. But none of them are comparable in scale to what happened on December 28, 1908. It began in the early morning, when most people were still sleeping.
There was only one earthquake, recorded at the Messina Observatory at 5:10 am. Then a dull rumble was heard, growing louder, and movements began to occur under the surface of the water of the strait, quickly spreading to the east and west. After some time, Reggio, Messina and other coastal cities and villages on both sides of the strait were in ruins. Then the sea suddenly retreated 50 meters along the coast of Sicily, from Messina to Catania, and then a wave 4–6 meters high hit the shore, flooding the coastal lowlands.
On the Calabrian side the wave was higher, resulting in more damage. In the Reggio area the earthquake was stronger than in all other places in Sicily. But the greatest loss of life was in Messina, the largest of the affected cities, which is also a center of tourism, with a large number of magnificent hotels.
Help was unable to arrive in time due to a complete lack of communication with the rest of Italy. The next morning, Russian sailors landed in Messina. The Russians had doctors who provided first aid to the victims. 600 armed Russian sailors began to restore order. On the same day, the British Navy arrived and with their help control was completely restored.
5. The most terrifying number of victims is in South America
No earthquake in the history of South America has claimed as many lives as the one that occurred on January 24, 1939 in Chile. Erupting at 11:35 p.m., it took unsuspecting residents by surprise. 50 thousand people died, 60 thousand were injured and 700 thousand were left homeless.
The city of Concepción lost 70% of its buildings, from old churches to the shacks of the poor. Hundreds of mines were filled up, and the miners who worked in them were buried alive.
5) Earthquake in Chile (1939); 6) in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan 1948); 7) in Armenia (1988); 8) in Alaska (1964).
It occurred in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) on October 6, 1948. It was the most severe earthquake in terms of consequences on the territory of the USSR in the first half of the 20th century. The cities of Ashgabat, Batir and Bezmein suffered from underground impacts with a force of 9–10 points. Analyzing the consequences of the disaster, scientists came to the conclusion that the destruction was the result of an unfortunate combination of unfavorable factors, primarily the poor quality of buildings.
According to some sources, more than 10 thousand people died then. According to others - 10 times more. Both of these figures were classified for a long time, as was all information about natural disasters and catastrophes on Soviet territory.
7. The most powerful earthquake in the Caucasus in the 20th century
1988, December 7 - at 11:41 am. Moscow time, an earthquake occurred in Armenia, which destroyed the city of Spitak and destroyed the cities of Leninakan, Stepanavan, Kirovakan. 58 villages in the north-west of the republic were reduced to ruins, almost 400 villages were partially destroyed. Tens of thousands of people died, 514 thousand people were left homeless. Over the past 80 years, this was the most powerful earthquake in the Caucasus.
The panel buildings, as it turned out later, collapsed due to the fact that numerous technology violations were committed during their installation.
8. The strongest - in the entire history of the United States
This happened off the coast of Alaska on March 27, 1964 (about 8.5 on the Richter scale). The epicenter was located 120 km east of the city of Anchorage, and Anchorage itself and the settlements around Prince William Sound were the most affected. To the north of the epicenter the ground dropped by 3.5 meters, and to the south it rose by at least two. The underground disaster caused a tsunami that devastated forests and port facilities along the coasts of Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon and Northern California and reached Antarctica.
Much damage was caused by snowfalls, avalanches and landslides. The relatively small number of victims - 131 people - is due to the sparse population of the area, but other factors were also at play. The earthquake began in the morning at 5:36 a.m., during the holidays, when schools and businesses were closed; There were almost no fires. In addition, due to the accompanying low tide, the seismic wave was not as high as it could have been.
The history of mankind remembers a lot of cataclysms, the most dangerous of which, for good reason, are earthquakes. The power of such natural incidents is assessed on the Richter scale. We propose to recall the top 10 most powerful earthquakes in the history of the Earth. We are talking about the most devastating seismic hazards that have taken the lives of millions of people. At the same time, humanity still remembers the dates of terrible events, which even modern technology and progress could not avoid. So, let's get started with the review:
TOP 10 most destructive earthquakes
It is worth noting that the most powerful earthquakes in the history of the world were recorded in Chile. The last of these occurred in 2010. The power of magnetic influence on the Richter scale is estimated at 8.8 points. The epicenter of the threat was in the city of Bio-Bio Concepción. The residents of this locality and the city of Maule suffered the most. A total of 540 people died in Bio-Bio Concepción. In the territory of the second city, 64 people were injured. Approximately 2 million people were left homeless. In total, damage is estimated at $30 billion.
The tsunami that occurred on January 31 in Ecuador immediately hit the entire coast of Central America. A magnitude of 8.8 was recorded in San Francisco. The first wave even reached Japan. Fortunately, we managed to get by with a minimum number of casualties due to the low population density. According to preliminary estimates, 1,500 people were affected and left without homes. Due to the timely response of rescuers, no fatalities were found. However, the damage is estimated at $1.5 million.
One of the most powerful earthquakes in history is considered to be a seismic shock recorded in 1923 near the island of Oshima. As a result of the incident, nearly three hundred thousand buildings in Tokyo and Yokohama were destroyed. Over two days, 356 tremors occurred. As a result, the waves reached a height of 12 meters. The tsunami took the lives of 174 thousand people. About 542 thousand are considered missing. In total, damage is estimated at $4.5 billion.
As a result of this cataclysm, over 820 thousand people died. The number of victims is considered the most serious incident in history. The disaster went down in history due to its duration. The horror lasted for nearly three days. During this time, the entire component of Shaanxi province was destroyed, including 60% of the population of the locality. The epicenter affected three provinces, including Feinan and Huaxian. A magnetic source was recorded in the Wei Valley. It is difficult to assess the damage due to the time span of the events.
In 2011, a magnitude of 9.1 was recorded on the island of Honshu. The most powerful earthquake in the history of Japan occurred 130 kilometers from the city of Sendai. About 30 minutes later, a powerful tsunami hit the coast of the country, which destroyed 11 nuclear power units in 69 minutes. As a result, 6,000 people died. 2,000 Japanese were missing. In total, the country suffered $36.6 billion in damage. To this day, local residents remember March 11 with horror.
As a result of a powerful earthquake on November 5, 1952, a tsunami reached the city of Severo-Kurilsk. As a result of a seismic phenomenon with a magnitude of 9 points, a powerful tsunami destroyed the entire city. According to rough estimates, the wave took the lives of 2,336 people. At the same time, about 6,000 people are considered missing. The waves reached 18 meters in height. The damage even at that time was $1 million. A total of three waves were observed. The weakest of them reached a height of 15 meters.
On December 26, an underwater earthquake with a scale of 9.3 reached the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The source of the cataclysm was provoked by the most destructive tsunami in human history. Waves of 15 meters destroyed Sri Lanka, southern India and the coast of Indonesia. Even the people of Thailand suffered damage. The tsunami almost completely destroyed the infrastructure of eastern Sri Lanka. According to preliminary estimates, nearly 225 thousand people died. At the same time, another 300 thousand are considered missing. Preliminary estimates put the damage at $10 billion.
This happened in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Power is 9.2 points. The epicenter of the most terrible earthquake was recorded 120 kilometers from the western part of Seward. The tremors led to the destruction of Kodiak Island and the city of Valdese. The shock itself killed 9 people. The tsunami killed 190 people. The mortality rate was reduced thanks to the timely detection of the threat. However, California suffered $200 million in damages. Destruction stretched from Canada to California.
On August 26, 1883, the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano caused one of the most destructive earthquakes in history. We decided to recall other most powerful and terrible earthquakes.
Egyptian earthquake of 1201
This event was reflected in the chronicles of those years, and was also included in the Guinness Book as the most destructive. According to chroniclers, about a million people died in Syria. Perhaps the figures told by historians are far from the truth, and there is a high probability that the facts have been exaggerated. What is known for certain is that this event led not only to large-scale destruction, but also to serious geopolitical changes and influenced the life of the entire region. 
The list of the most destructive disasters in history includes the Ganja earthquake that occurred in 1139, which killed about 230,000 people. These consequences were caused by strong tremors with an amplitude of 11 points. Due to the fact that it occurred almost a thousand years ago, very little is known about this earthquake, and the main source of information is the description of the Armenian historian and poet Mkhitar Gosh. He describes cities reduced to ruins and a large number of casualties. Taking advantage of the earthquake, Turkish troops attacked the city, looting and killing the people who survived the earthquake. 
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It happened in the province of Shenxi in 1556. This earthquake killed more than 850,000 people, making it one of the most destructive and widespread in human history. At the epicenter of the disaster, more than 60% of the people died: such huge casualties were caused by the fact that a large number of people lived in limestone caves, which easily collapsed even with small tremors. Historical records of those years say that most of the buildings were instantly destroyed, and the amplitude of the tremors was so great that the landscape was constantly changing: new ravines and hills appeared, rivers changed their location. The aftershocks that followed the earthquake, which lasted for several months after the tragedy, also caused serious destruction. 
Eruption of Krakatoa volcano in 1883
Huge destruction was caused by the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano at the end of the nineteenth century. The prohibitive number of victims was avoided only due to the fact that the tsunami hit the less populated regions of the islands of Java and Sumatra. 40 thousand died, more than 800 thousand square kilometers of the territory of the volcano were covered with ash, which destroyed all life within a radius of several tens of kilometers from Krakatoa. 
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Earthquake in 2010
Three years ago, a terrible tragedy occurred in Haiti, from which this small, poor country still cannot recover. A powerful earthquake and tsunami destroyed the entire infrastructure of the islands and forced Haitians to engage in looting and robbery in order to survive in the current situation. The crime rate, anarchy, infections and isolation from the outside world, which had soared to incredible heights, worsened the situation tenfold. The dead number in the hundreds of thousands, the injured in the millions. 
