Deadliest Earthquakes on Record

Ran
k

Name

Date

Location

Fataliti
es

820,000
January
"Shaanxi"
Shaanxi, China 830,000
23, 1556
(est.)

Decembe
Ningxia
"Haiyuan" r 16,
Gansu, China
1920

"Tangshan July 28,

"
1976

"Antioch"

May 21,
526

"Indian
Ocean"

Decembe Indian
r 26,
Ocean, Sumatr 230,210+
2004
a, Indonesia

"Aleppo"

Hebei, China

Lecture Notes in Earthquake Engineering

Engr. Valerie N. Linga

Notes

8.0 (est.)

Estimated death
toll in Shaanxi,
China.

273,400

7.8

Major fractures,
landslides.

242,769

7.8

Antioch, Turkey
(then
240,000
Byzantine
Empire)

October Aleppo, Syria

11, 1138

Magnitud
e

230,000

7.0 (est.)

Procopius (II.14.6),
sources based
on John of
Ephesus.

9.19.3

Deaths from
earthquake and
resulting tsunami.

Unknown

The figure of
230,000 dead is
based on a
historical
conflation of this
earthquake with
earthquakes in
November 1137 on
the Jazira plain and
the large seismic
event of
September 30,
1139 in the
Azerbaijani city
of Ganja. The first
mention of a
230,000 death toll
was by Ibn
Compiled by

Ran
k

Name

Date

Location

Fataliti
es

Magnitud
e

Notes
Taghribirdi in the
fifteenth century.

"Haiti"

January
Haiti
12, 2010

"Damgha
n"

Decembe
200,000
Damghan, Iran
r 22, 856
(est.)

"Ardabil"

March
22, 893

10

"Aleppo"

Novembe Syria

Ardabil, Iran

Lecture Notes in Earthquake Engineering

Engr. Valerie N. Linga

100,000
316,000

150,000
(est.)

7.0

Estimates vary
from 316,000
(unsubstantiated
Haitian
government claim)
to 222,570 (United
Nations Office for
the Coordination of
Humanitarian
Affairs estimate) to
158,000 (report
published in
theMedicine,
Conflict and
Survival) to
between 85,000
and 46,000
(unpublished LTL
Strategies report
commissioned
by USAID).

7.9 (est.)

Unknown

Reports probably
relate to the 893
Dvin earthquake,
due to misreading
of the Arabic word
for Dvin, 'Dabil' as
'Ardabil'. This is
regarded as a 'fake
earthquake'.

130,000
Compiled by

Ran
k

Name

Date

Location

Fataliti
es

Magnitud
e

Notes

r 29, 533
11

"Messina" Decembe Messina, Italy

r 28,
1908

Lecture Notes in Earthquake Engineering

Engr. Valerie N. Linga

123,000

7.1

On December 28,
1908 from about
5:20 to 5:21 am an
earthquake of 7.1
on the moment
magnitude scale
occurred centered
on Messina, a city
in Sicily, Italy.
Reggio Calabria on
the Italian
mainland also
suffered heavy
damage. The
ground shook for
some 30 to 40
seconds, and the
destruction was
felt within a
300 km radius.
Moments after the
earthquake, a 40
feet (12 m)
tsunami struck
nearby coasts
causing even more
devastation. 93%
of structures in
Messina were
destroyed and
some 70,000
residents were
killed. Rescuers
searched through
the rubble for
weeks, and whole
families were still
being pulled out
Compiled by

Ran
k

Name

Date

Location

Fataliti
es

Magnitud
e

Notes
alive days later,
but thousands
remained buried
there. Buildings in
the area had not
been constructed
for earthquake
resistance, having
heavy roofs and
vulnerable
foundations.

12

13

"Ashgabat October
"
6, 1948

"Great
Kant"

Ashgabat, Turk
men
SSR(modern110,000
day
Turkmenistan)

Septemb Kant region,

er 1,
Japan
1923

Lecture Notes in Earthquake Engineering

Engr. Valerie N. Linga

105,385

7.3

7.9

An earthquake
which struck
the Kant plain on
the Japanese main
island of Honsh at
11:58 on the
morning of
September 1,
1923. Varied
accounts hold that
the duration of the
earthquake was
between 4 and 10
minutes. The
quake had an
epicenter deep
beneath Izu
shima Island
in Sagami Bay. It
devastated Tokyo,
the port city
ofYokohama,
Compiled by

Ran
k

Name

Date

Location

Fataliti
es

Magnitud
e

Notes
surrounding
prefectures
of Chiba, Kanagaw
a, and Shizuoka,
and caused
widespread
damage
throughout the
Kant region. The
power and
intensity of the
earthquake is easy
to underestimate,
but the 1923
earthquake
managed to move
the 93-tonGreat
Buddha statue
at Kamakura. The
statue slid forward
almost two feet.
Casualty estimates
range from about
100,000 to
142,800 deaths,
the latter figure
including
approximately
40,000 who went
missing and were
presumed dead.

14

"Chihli"

Septemb
Ningcheng,
er 27,
China
1290

14

"Kashmir"

October
8, 2005

Muzaffarabad,
Pakistan

Lecture Notes in Earthquake Engineering

Engr. Valerie N. Linga

100,000

6.8

100,000

7.6

Compiled by

Property damages caused by earthquake

Ra
nk

Name

Magnitude

Property damages

2011 Thoku earthquake, Japan

9.0

$235 billion

1995 Great
earthquake, Japan

6.9

$100 billion

2008
China

8.0

$75 billion

2011 Christchurch earthquake,

New Zealand

6.3

$40 billion

2010 Chile earthquake, Chile

8.8

$1530 billion

1994 Northridge
United States

6.7

$20 billion

2012 Emilia earthquakes, Italy

6.1

$13.2 billion

1989 Loma Prieta earthquake,

United States

1999 921 earthquake, Taiwan

10

Sichuan

Hanshin

earthquake,

earthquake,

~7.0; 6.9-7.1
reported

$11 billion

7.6

$10 billion

$9.5 billion ($400 million

1906 San Francisco earthquake,
7.7 to 7.9 (est.) 1906
value)
United States

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_earthquakes

Lecture Notes in Earthquake Engineering

Engr. Valerie N. Linga

Compiled by

Top 10 Deadliest and Most Destructive Earthquakes in the Philippines

1.) 1976 Moro Gulf Earthquake and Tsunami up to 8,000 deaths
In terms of casualties, the deadliest earthquake to ever hit the Philippine is the
1976 Moro Gulf Earthquake and Tsunami killing about 8,000 people. It was very
devastating because it occurred just after midnight when most people are asleep.
Date: August 16, 1976
Magnitude: 8.0 moment magnitude scale
Epicenter: Celebes Sea
Damages: Not accounted
Affected areas: Mindanao and Borneo
2.) 1645 Luzon Earthquake - 600 deaths (Spaniards only)
One of the deadliest earthquakes and was dubbed as the "most terrible earthquake"
in the recorded history of the Philippines is the 1645 Luzon Earthquake. During this
time, only Spaniards who died were counted. If properly recorded, this could be the
most devastating and deadliest earthquake in the country.
Date: November 30, 1645 at about 08:00 PM
Magnitude: 7.5
Epicenter: Nueva Ecija
Damages: Hundreds of buildings and houses were destroyed
Affected areas: Central Luzon, Manila
3.) 1990 Luzon Earthquake 1,621 deaths
The 1990 Luzon Earthquake is one of the most devastating and most dramatic
earthquakes that struck the Philippines. Some survivors were rescued from under
the rubbles of collapsed building even after 3 weeks. Cabanatuan City and Baguio
City incurred the highest numbers of casualties.
Date: July 16, 1990, at 4:26 PM
Magnitude: 7.8
Epicenter: 15 42' N and 121 7' E near Rizal, Nueva Ecija
Damages: Scores of buildings collapsed and damaged
Affected areas: Central Luzon and Cordillera region
4.) Luzon Earthquakes of July 1880
The Luzon Earthquake of July 1880 is another deadly and destructive earthquake in
Philippine history. Manila and Laguna were severely devastated by the tremors. The
first major tremor lasted for 1 minute and 10 seconds.
Date: July 14-25, 1880
Magnitude: 10 on Rossi-Forel scale
Epicenter: Luzon
Damages: Scores of churches and buildings were damages and destroyed
Affected areas: Manila, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Cavite and Bulacan
5.) 1968 Casiguran Earthquake 268 deaths
The 1968 Casiguran Earthquake of 1968 is another deadly and devastating seismic
activity in the Philippines. Manila was the worst hit during the said event. The quake
also caused tsunamis as far as Japan and caused several landslides
Date: August 2, 1968
Magnitude: 7.3
Epicenter: Casiguran, Aurora
Damages: Ruby Tower fell and several buildings were destroyed and damaged.
Lecture Notes in Earthquake Engineering
Engr. Valerie N. Linga

Compiled by

Affected areas: Manila, Aurora and Pampanga

6.) 2012 Visayas Earthquake 81 deaths
Several towns in Negros Oriental were isolated due to the collapsed of bridges
connecting the towns to the rest of the province. The tremor and aftershocks
caused landslides and buried many residential houses.
Date: February 6, 2012
Magnitude: 6.9 Mw
Epicenter: Negros Oriental
Damages: Bridges collapsed, buildings were damaged and roads were totally ruined
Affected areas: Negros Oriental and neighboring provinces
7.) 1994 Mindoro Earthquake casualties -78 deaths
This tremor generated a tsunami and landslides that destroyed several houses and
properties and claimed the lives of less than 100 people.
Date: November 15, 1994
Magnitude: 7.1
Epicenter: Verde Island Passage
Damages: 7,566 houses were damaged
Affected areas: Mindoro, Verde Island, Baco islands, Luzon
8.) 2002 Mindanao Earthquake 15 deaths
The quake generated a tsunami and landslides.
Date: March 5, 2002
Magnitude: 7.5
Epicenter: Cotabato Trench
Damages: About 800 buildings were damaged
9.) 1990 Bohol Earthquake deaths-6
Aside from the houses destroyed by the Bohol earthquake of 1990, the event also
injured more than 200 people.
Date: February 08, 1990
Magnitude: 6.8
Epicenter: Bohol
Damages: 46,000 people were displaced and at least 7,000 became homeless
Affected areas: Bohol
10.) 1973 Ragay Gulf Earthquake
The town of Calauag, Quezon was the most devastated during the 1973 Ragay Gulf
Earthquake.
Date: March 17, 1973
Magnitude: 7.0
Epicenter: Ragay Gulf
Damages: 98 houses destroyed and damaged 270 more
Affected areas: Quezon province
There were many other earthquakes during the more than 300-year Spanish
colonization of the Philippines but there are no written records on the casualties and
damages.
Source: https://geology.knoji.com/top-10-deadliest-and-most-destructiveearthquakes-in-the-philippines/
Lecture Notes in Earthquake Engineering
Engr. Valerie N. Linga

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