Deadly Tsunamis - Avery Martin

Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal)

Nov 1, 1755

The Lisbon Earthquake's magnitude reached up to an 8.4. Not only was this an earthquake, but it was also followed by a tsunami and fires that in total killed 50,000 people. This was the 3rd known largest earthquake to hit Lisbon ever, and also happened to strike on All Saints Day of that year.

Krakatoa Eruption (Java/Sumatra)

Aug 26, 1883

Striking at a 6.0 magnitude and having killed 36,000 people, this is said to be one of the most deadly and disastrous volcanic events ever, with origins of the quake starting back as early as May of that same year.

Aleutian Earthquake (Alaska)

Apr 1, 1946

This quake of a 7.5 magnitude set off a several wave tsunami killing a total of 167 people. $26 million of damage was created during this event, and left 488 total buildings completely demolished.

Great Chilean Earthquake (Chile)

May 23, 1960

This is the strongest earthquake ever recorded in history with a magnitude between 9.4-9.6. It lasted an entire 10 minutes and sent a tsunami to Hawaii that stood up to 35 feet tall. The death toll of this event was 5,000.

Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)

Mar 27, 1964

This event is also known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake. There was 500 years of stress build up that led up to this particular earthquake, that resulted in a magnitude of 9.2. Total, there were about 131 deaths, and it lasted a total of 4 minutes and 38 seconds.

Hokkaido Earthquake (Japan)

Jul 12, 1993

This quake hit at a 7.0 magnitude. It cost Japan 367.5 billion yen to recover from the damages, but there were only 41 total deaths. There was a large aftershock to this earthquake on February 21, 2019, which was the strongest aftershock to ever occur in current history.

Papua New Guinea Quake (Papua New Guinea)

Jul 17, 1998

This quake hit the area at a magnitude of 7.0 with a death toll of 160, but many people were reported missing, so that number is likely much higher. This event had a massive aftershock, and overall left 6,000 people homeless due to damages.

Sumatra Earthquake (Indonesia)

Dec 26, 2004

This was an extremely deadly event due to 227,898 people being killed and the magnitude reaching a 9.1. It is classified as an "undersea megathrust earthquake," and it lasted somewhere between 8-10 minutes long.

Samoa Earthquake (Samoan Islands)

Sep 29, 2009

The 8.0 magnitude created a 46 foot tall tsunami that resulted in 192 deaths. Unfortunately, most of these deaths were children. It was also the most substantial earthquake of the year 2009.

Chile Earthquake (Chile)

Feb 27, 2010

This 8.8 magnitude quake and tsunami had a death toll of over 500. It was felt in many countries, some as far as Brazil, and over the following few weeks after the mainshock, there were hundreds of reported aftershocks.

Tohoku Earthquake (Japan)

Mar 11, 2011

This earthquake had a magnitude of 9.0 and, at the time, was the strongest quake that Japan had ever had. The earthquake caused there to be multiple tsunami waves, some that stood up to 133 feet tall, killing a total of 15,894 people. It was actually so powerful that it shifted the entire main island of Japan 8 feet to the east.

Sulawesi Earthquake (Indonesia)

Sep 27, 2018

This 7.5M earthquake was one with many foreshocks. Killing 2,000, this was the deadliest earthquake to strike Indonesia since the year 2006. It resulted in a ton of soil liquefaction in and around the city of Palu.