Major earthquakes in history — open the feed with that day's data
Two shocks, M7.8 and M7.7, on the same day devastated southern and central Turkey and northern Syria. 53,537 people died in Turkey and between 5,951 and 8,476 in Syria; about 1.5 million were left homeless. Damage in Turkey was estimated at US$150 billion — about 9% of its GDP.
The shaking lasted about 37 seconds and reached intensity X. Official figures give at least 18,373 dead and 48,901 injured. Damage was estimated at US$12–20 billion (1999 dollars). Afterwards an “earthquake tax” and compulsory earthquake insurance were introduced.
604 people died and 4,152 were injured. At least 11,232 buildings were damaged, 6,017 of them uninhabitable, leaving around 60,000 people homeless. On 9 November a second shock in the same fault system killed another 38.
The undersea shock triggered a tsunami with waves estimated up to 40.5 m, which reached up to 10 km inland near Sendai. 19,759 people died and 2,553 are missing. The Fukushima Daiichi accident led to evacuation within 20 km. Damage exceeded US$300 billion — the costliest natural disaster in history.
A tsunami up to 30 m high struck the coasts of 14 countries. About 227,900 people died, most in Aceh (Indonesia), Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. It is the deadliest tsunami in history. The rupture ran 1,200–1,300 km and lasted at least ten minutes.
The epicentre was about 25 km west of Port-au-Prince. Estimates of the dead range from 100,000 to 160,000; the Haitian government gave 220,000–316,000. About 250,000 homes and 30,000 commercial buildings collapsed or were severely damaged, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building and the cathedral.
Over 69,000 people died, more than 374,000 were injured and about 18,000 were missing; at least 4.8 million were left homeless. The shock set off about 200,000 landslides and more than 800 quake lakes, which caused roughly a third of the deaths.
The dawn shock lasted about 20 seconds, with JMA intensity 7. At least 5,000 people died, around 4,600 of them in Kobe. It is Japan's second deadliest earthquake of the 20th century, after the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake.
The shaking lasted about 8 seconds and ground acceleration exceeded 1.7 g. 60 people died and more than 9,000 were injured. Property damage was estimated at US$13–50 billion — among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The source was more than 350 km from the capital, but the soft sediments of the ancient lake bed under Mexico City amplified the shaking. At least 5,000 people died; 412 buildings collapsed in the city and another 3,124 were seriously damaged. Damage came to US$3–5 billion.