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Lisbon earthquake (1755)
The Lisbon earthquake was a disaster that killed not only most of Lisbon but most of Morocco and other coastal regions as well. The wave that hit the city was 30 meters high. This Tsunami was caused by a M9 earthquake. The death toll reached up to about 100,000 people with Portugal's 90,000 and Morocco's 10,000 deaths. Areas several kilometers in other directions had the same issues with waves destroying boats along the coast line. -
Krakatoa Eruption (Java/ Sumatra)
The tsunami was not caused by an earthquake but rather a massive eruption that sent the entire slope of the volcano into the ocean. The resulting damage caused by the volcano and tsunami together devastated the surrounding islands. The volcano threw five cubic miles of earth 50 miles up. The total death toll reached 36,000 people. The tsunami that devastated the islands was 30 meters high. In the end 165 coastal villages were destroyed during the event. -
Aleutian Earthquake (Alaska)
The Aleutian Earthquake was caused by a massive uplift of a plate in the pacific ocean. This displaced a massive amount of water causing a Tsunami. The resulting tsunami was reported to be between 40 to 75 feet high. The earthquake that caused the event was M7.5. It killed up to 173 people. It caused the US approximately 26 million dollars in damages. -
Great Chilean Earthquake (Chile)
The great chilean earthquake occurred in May of 1960 caused by the Nazca plate releasing tension and descending 15 meters.The earthquake dwarfed all others reaching a magnitude of 9.6. The Earthquake and tsunami left up to five thousand dead. Another 2,000,000 were left homeless by the event. The event caused deaths as far away Japan. The earthquake was classified as a mega thrust earthquake, The largest ever to be recorded. -
Good Friday earthquake (Alaska)
The good Friday earthquake was an event caused by the sinking of an oceanic plate beneath a continental one. The quakes magnitude was M9.2. The large quake was made more devastating by the Collapsing ground fissures that resulted in more deaths. The ultimate death toll reached 139 people. The tsunami reached approximately 14 feet high. The event resulted i one million dollars in disaster expenses. -
Hokkaido Earthquake (Japan)
The Hokkaido earthquake and tsunami occurred off the west coast of Japan. The earthquake that caused the devastating tsunami reached a magnitude of 7.8. The wave it created was from two to six six meters tall and devastated lands as far away as the Yumaguchi Prefecture. To make matters worse the wave the water swamped a nearby nuclear plant almost worsening the disaster. The plant later had to go onto emergency power to avert disaster. In the end the tsunami devastated 213 square miles of land. -
Papua New Guinea Quake
The aptly names Papua New Guinea earthquake in its Hela province on the island. The quake was most likely caused by an underwater landslide off the east coast of the island displacing a large amount of water. The earthquakes was a magnitude seven earthquake. After the Tsunami and earthquake the total death toll was up to 2700 people. The event raised awareness amongst scientists about the hazard underwater landslides represented. Most tsunami's were caused by underwater earthquakes. -
Sumatra earthquake
The Sumatra earthquake of 2004 occurred off the west coast of Indonesia. The tsunami was extremely devastating killing up to 230,000 people. The earthquake reached a magnitude of 9.3. This event devastated not only Indonesia but it also affected 14 other countries. The massive death toll was a result of the fact many people had no education thus they did not know what to do when the tsunami struck. Many people went to the beach to watch when the water went out. -
Some earthquake of 2009
The Samoa earthquake that devastated the island chain originated from just south of the island chain. The quake had a magnitude of 8.1. Most of the people killed in the tsunami were children. The total death toll was 189 people. This was a much smaller number of deaths than normal in tsunami's caused by earthquakes of this magnitude. It was the 5th tsunami the (USGS) had studied in 15 years. -
Chile Earthquake (Chile)
The Chile earthquake occurred in the seismically active nation of Chile . This was caused by high stress due to the subduction of the Nazca plate.The quake had a magnitude of 8.8 the highest seen since the Great Chilean earthquake. The quake and tsunami killed 525 people. The disaster left up to two million people homeless. That quake would have the highest magnitude for its time. -
Tohoku Earthquake (Japan)
The Tohoku earthquake occurred on march 11th 2011 off the east coast of Japan. The earthquake had a magnitude of 9 creating a large tsunami. The death toll reached a massive 15,896 people. The wave reached a height of 128 feet. With great speed and force the waves were able to move up to six miles inland. Thanks to such an event debris are still washing up on beaches in the US.
