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Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal)
The magnitude of the earthquake was 8.5-9.1. The death toll was 10,000-100,000. In combination with subsequent fires and a tsunami, the earthquake almost totally destroyed Lisbon and adjoining areas. Contemporary reports state that the earthquake lasted between three and a half and six minutes, causing fissures 5 meters wide in the city center. -
Krakatoa Eruption(Java/Sumatra)
There was no magnitude. The volcanic eruption VEI rate of 6, which is catastrophic. The death toll was 36,417-120,000. The eruption was one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history and explosions were so violent that they were heard 1,930 miles away in Perth, Western Australia, and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius, 3,000 miles away. -
Aleutian Earthquake(Alaska)
The magnitude was 8.6. The death toll was 165-173. It caused over $26 million in damage. Waves reportedly traveled across the ocean at 500 miles an hour and measured 45-120 feet high. -
Great Chilean Earthquake (Chile)
The magnitude was 9.5. The death toll was 1,000-7,000. It is the most powerful earthquake that was ever recorded. It lasted for 10 minutes. -
Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)
The magnitude was 9.2. The death toll was 139. It is the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American History. Six hundred miles of fault ruptured at once and moved up to 60 ft, releasing about 500 years of stress buildup. Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. -
Hokkaido Earthquake (Japan)
The magnitude was 7.7. The death toll was 230. The earthquake occurred in the backarc region of the convergent boundary where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate. The rupture occurred on a fault that dipped at 24 degrees to the east. It had an estimated length of 150 km with a displacement of 2.5 m. -
Papua New Guinea Quake
The magnitude was 7. The death toll was 2,183-2,700. Many thousands more people were injured. The earthquake consisted of a mainshock and several aftershocks that were felt in several towns in the area around the epicenter. The area worst hit was a 19-mile coastal strip running north-west from Aitape to the village of Sissano. Several villages in the path of the tsunami were completely destroyed and others extensively damaged. -
Sumatra Earthquake (Indonesia)
The magnitude was 9.1-9.3. The death toll was 227,898. A series of large tsunami waves up to 100 ft high were created by the underwater seismic activity. Communities along the surrounding coasts of the Indian Ocean were seriously affected. -
Samoa Earthquake (Samoan Islands)
The magnitude was 8.1. The death toll was 189. A tsunami was generated which caused substantial damage and loss of life in Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center recorded a 3-inch rise in sea levels near the epicenter, and New Zealand scientists determined that the waves measured 46 ft at their highest on the Samoan coast. -
Chile Earthquake
The magnitude was 8.8. The death toll was 525. An aftershock of 6.2 was recorded 20 minutes after the initial quake. Two more aftershocks of magnitudes 5.4 and 5.6 followed within an hour of the initial quake. Seismologists estimate that the earthquake was so powerful that it may have shortened the length of the day by 1.26 microseconds and moved the Earth's figure axis by 2.7 milliarcseconds. -
Tohoku Earthquake (Japan)
The magnitude was 9. The death toll was 15,897. There was 6,157 missing people. 2,532 people were marked as missing. The earthquake moved Honshu 8 ft east, shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 4 in and 10 in.
