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Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal)
The magnitude of the earthquake was 9, while the death toll was around 20,000 people. The fires burned for five straight days and it had been considered one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. This earthquake struck on a religious holiday and destroyed almost every church in the city. -
Krakatoa Earthquake (Java/ Sumatra)
This earthquake produced a tsunami of approximately 35 m (115 ft), and it had a death toll of about 36,000 people and 165,000 villages. This eruption released 11 cubic miles of ash into the atmosphere. Many of the deaths were thermal injuries. This was located along the Pacific Basin where two huge tectonic plates meet. -
Aleutian Earthquake (Alaska)
The magnitude of this earthquake is an 8.1, and the death toll is around 160 people. The Aleutian Earthquake had reported waves that traveled across the ocean at 500 miles an hour. From the hundreds of casualties, it also resulted in $26 million in damage. -
Great Chilean Earthquake (Chile)
The magnitude of this earthquake was a 9.5, and the death toll was around 61 people. This earthquake was caused by the Nazca plate releasing tension and descending 15 meters underneath South America Plate. The rupture zone reached 1000 km and this earthquake left 2 million people homeless. -
Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)
The magnitude of this earthquake was 9.2, and the death toll was around 130 people. This earthquake struck about 15 meters below Prince William Sound. It was recorded as the second most powerful earthquake. This was caused by an oceanic plate sinking under a continental plate. -
Hokkaido Earthquake (Japan)
The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.8, and the death toll was around 120 people. The waves from the tsunami ranged from 5 to 10 meters in height and crashed on the nearest coastline. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the sea of Japan/East sea at 42.8 N, 139.2 E. -
Papua New Guinea Quake (Papua New Guinea)
The magnitude of this earthquake was a 7.1, while the death toll was around 2100 people. This quake triggered landslides, killing and burying people and houses affecting water sources and destroying crops. This occurred on a reverse fault near the north coast region. This tsunami destroyed primarily 3 fishing villages along a 30km stretch. -
Sumatra Earthquake (Indonesia)
The magnitude of this earthquake was a 9.1, and the death toll was around 230,000 people. This was caused by slippage of about 600 miles of the boundary between the India and Burma plates off the West coast. This was the third strongest earthquake since 1990. The aftershocks were distributed along the plate boundary. -
Samoa Earthquake (Samoan Islands)
The magnitude of this earthquake was an 8.1, while the death toll was around 200 people. This tsunami recorded a 3 inch rise in sea level near the epicenter, and the waves measured 14 meters on their highest coast. This was the second largest earthquake of 2009. -
Chile Earthquake (Chile)
The magnitude of this earthquake was an 8.8, while the death toll was around 700 people. The epicenter was located some 200 meters southwest of Santiago, the focus occurred at a depth of about 22 meters below the surface. This resulted from the rupture of a 300-375 mile stretch to the fault that separates the South American plate from the subjecting Nazca plate. -
Tohoku Earthquake (Japan)
The magnitude of the earthquake was 9.1, while the death toll reached around 20,000 people. The earthquake caused a tsunami with 30 foot waves and damaged numerous nuclear reactors. This was the largest earthquake in Japan in record. At the time of this earthquake there was 54 nuclear reactors (2 under construction), and 17 power plants the produced 30% of Japans electricity. -
Sulawesi Earthquake (Indonesia)
This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.6 and it had a death toll of about 832 people. The violent vertical motion was caused by thrust quakes and they displaced a huge volume of seawater. This occurred from the movement on the Sunda "megathrust" and it occurred 35 miles north of Palu.
