-
Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal)
Recorded as a magnitude 9 earthquake, this earthquake took 20,000 lives in its wake. During the time of the incident the Portuguese were attending church and church structures were not built to withstand the violent movements of the earthquake and collapsed, praying church goers were crushed underneath the rubble. Churches were lit with candles and decorated with flowers and other flammable items, the shaking caused the candles to fall and resulted in churches becoming on fire across. -
Krakatoa Eruption (Java/Sumatra)
It had a volcanic explosivity of 6 which is considered a colossal disaster, and it caused more than 36,000 deaths. This eruption was one of the 1st global news events after the telegraph lines were connected to countries. It is also known to have generated the loudest sound in history and could be heard in Perth, Australia. -
Aleutian Earthquake (Alaska)
Categorized with a magnitude of 8.1 this earthquake cost 160 lives. A wave that was recorded hit locally and was as high as a 13 story building. The earthquake itself was too small to create such a huge local wave, scientists theorize that the earthquake triggered an underwater landslide which caused such huge waves to be emitted. -
Great Chilean Quake (Chile)
Recorded of having a 9.5 magnitude and it took 5,000 casualties. After shocks took place a full 30 days after the main tremor occured. -
Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)
Is recorded to have had a 9.2 magnitude earthquake and is said to have killed 130 people. The quake lasted 45 minuets and is the most powerful earthquake recorded in U.S. history. The force of the quake wobbled Seattle's Space Needle 1.200 miles away. -
Hokkaido Earthquake (Japan)
Had a total magnitude of 7.8 and took 120 lives from the people of Okushiri Island. It initially caused a landslide on the island which killed 30 people in a hotel. It also produced tremors that reached and could be felt in Russia. -
Papua New Guinea Quake (Papua New Guinea)
Produced a magnitude 7.1 tremor and killed more than 2,100 people. It produced a 3 wave tsunami 10 minuets after the main shock, each wave was 4 meters or more in height. People of the island a had no precautionary measures, this caused a lot of causalities. -
Sumatra Earthquake (Indonesia)
Said to have a magnitude of 9.1 and estimated to have taken the lives of 250,00 people. The quake managed to rupture the greatest fault length of any recorded earthquake, 1,500 km long (longer than the whole state of California). Islands were also lifted above waterline or were submerged. -
Samoa Earthquake (Samoan Islands)
It had a magnitude of 8.1 and took the lives of about 200 people. The tremor triggered 2 separate earthquakes within 2-3 minuets of each other. This was considered to be a very rare event and is called a doublet. -
Chile Earthquake (Chile)
Recorded with a magnitude of 8.8 and caused about 700 people in the coastal towns to lose their lives. After the main shock occurred, aftershocks continued of a week, each measuring up to 5.1 in magnitude. The amount of energy the earthquake omitted is said to be equivalent to 100,000 Hiroshima Bombs. -
Tohoku Earthquake (Japan)
Noted to have had a magnitude of 9.1 and is estimated to have taken over 20,000 lives. Shocks were felt form Normandy to Antarctica's ice sheet. The debris form the quake continues to wash up of North American shores years later. -
Sulawesi Earthquake (Indonesia)
Had a magnitude of 7.5 and the quake killed over 844 people. A total of 68,000 homes were damaged and annihilated. Shortly after the main shock a tsunami alert was issued then, called off. The tsunami followed up the earthquake not long after.
