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Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal)
The magnitude of the Earthquake was 9 and the death toll was 20,000. The disaster occurred on the religious holiday "All Saints Day." A week after the earthquake, over 90% of the buildings in Lisbon were destroyed. -
Krakatoa Eruption (Java/Sumatra)
The eruption had a VEI of 6 and an estimated 36,000 people were killed. The eruption generated a 30m tsunami that wiped out 165 coastal villages. The explosion was heard thousands of miles away in Perth and Western Australia. -
Aleutian Earthquake (Alaska)
The earthquake had a magnitude of 8.1 and a death toll over 1,600. The earthquake-caused tsunami hit the island of Hawaii. The big island has over $300 million in damages. As a result of this disaster, the United States established the seismic sew wave warning system to provide warnings. -
Great Chilean Earthquake (Chile)
This earthquake had a magnitude of 9.5 (wow!) and is responsible for at least 61 deaths. This was the largest recorded earthquake in the 20th century and the event was named after the city most affected by the earthquake. The quake triggered a massive tsunami that reached New Zealand, Japan, the Phillipines, and Hawaii. -
Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)
This earthquake has a magnitude of 9.2 and 130 people were killed. The event triggered a major tsunami that caused casualties and damage from the Kodiak islands to Northern California. As a result of this disaster, the area of Valdez was deemed unsafe for habitation and the entire town had to be relocated. -
Hokkaido Earthquake (Japan)
120 people died as a result of this 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Within 2 to 5 minutes of the quake, extremely large waves engulfed the Okushiri coastline. The earthquake triggered a major tsunami that caused a few casualties in southeastern Russia as well as Japan. -
Papua New Guinea Earthquake (Papua New Guinea)
The 7.1 magnitude quake and following tsunami had a death toll of 2,100. Three catastrophic waves destroyed four villages on the north coast of the island. Scientists believed that a submarine landslide generated by the earthquake triggered the tsunami. -
Sumatra Earthquake (Indonesia)
The 9.1 magnitude disaster was responsible for an estimated 230,000 people. The earthquake caused the ocean floor to spring back to the west by 6 meters & uplifted by 2 meters. The displacement of the ocean floor shoved water upwards generating a series of tsunami waves. -
Samoa Earthquake (Samoan Islands)
The earthquake had a magnitude of 8.1 and killed over 200 people. The tsunami was triggered by at least two separate earthquakes occurring within 2-3 minutes of each other. Due to safety education and community outreach programs, many residents were able to recognize the signs of the tsunami and followed evacuation plans, greatly reducing the number of casualties. -
Chile Earthquake (Chile)
Over 700 people were killed during this 8.8 magnitude earthquake. The earthquake was felt strongly in six Chilean regions, in which over 80% of Chile's population resides. The epicenter was located 200 miles southwest of the Chilean capital & located 22 miles below the surface. -
Tohoku Earthquake (Japan)
This earthquake had a magnitude of 9.1 and over 20,000 people were killed. The earthquake and sequential tsunami caused over $200 billion in damages in Japan. Parts of Hawaii and California also had damages caused by the disaster. The tsunami disabled three nuclear reactors in Japan, avoiding a nuclear disaster. -
Sulawesi Earthquake (Indonesia)
The Earthquake and tsunami that hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi was a magnitude of 7.4 and killed over 2,000 people. Sulawesi lies between the complex zone of interaction between the Australian, Pacific, Philippine, and Sunda tectonic plates. An estimated 2.4 million people were affected by this disaster, such as building destruction left many homeless or displaced and health risks from polluted water.