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Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal)
This Earthquake had a magnitude of 9. There were 20,000 casualties as a result. A Tsunami with waves up to 13 feet tall followed this earthquake. The reason there were so many deaths was because many of those people were attending church at the moment. It happened to be "All Saints Day". -
Krakatoa Eruption (Java/Sumatra)
The volcano, Krakatoa, erupted with an explosivity of VEI: 6. It triggered a tsunami in the Sunda Strait, killing around 36,000 people. This was one of the deadliest volcanic events in recorded history. On top of that, the explosions from the eruption remains as the loudest sound in recorded history, as it was heard from 3,000 miles away. -
Aleutian Earthquake (Alaska)
This earthquake held a magnitude of 8.1. There were 160 deaths as a result of the earthquake, and the tsunami it produced. The tsunami had waves as high as 130 feet. In fact, many people thought that the prediction of this earthquake was an April fools prank due to the date it landed on. Coincidence? -
Great Chilean Earthquake (Chile)
The magnitude of the earthquake was 9.5. A tsunami, with waves up to 35 feet high, destroyed parts of the coast of Chile. the Pacific of Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines. Interestingly, this was a megathrust earthquake, meaning that one plate slid under the other in a subduction zone. -
Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)
This extremely powerful earthquake had a magnitude of 9.2. Around 130 people were killed in it. An underwater landslide was triggered,as well as multiple tsunamis that destroyed areas around the world. Most of the casualties were caused by the multiple tsunamis produced. Aftershocks followed this earthquake for an entire year. -
Hokkaido Earthquake (Japan)
This earthquake held a magnitude of 7.8. It triggered multiple landslides as well as volcanoes. The volcanoes even released pumicide throughout the area. A tsunami was created, which struck the coastlines of Okushiri island. -
Papua New Guinea Quake (Papua New Guinea)
This smaller earthquake held a magnitude of 7.1. Though this particular earthquake was not as big as the others, it created a massive tsunami. This even killed 2,100 people overall. It also triggered an underwater landslide. Due to the immense amount of people injured by the earthquake, hospitals were overwhelmed. Many people were left untreated. -
Sumatra Earthquake (Indonesia)
This very powerful earthquake had a magnitude of 9.1. A tsunami, with waves as high as 100 feet, invaded coasts along the Indian Ocean. Communities in those areas suffered greatly with an overall death toll of 230,000 people. This was the third largest Earthquake ever recorded. -
Samoa Earthquake (Samoan Islands)
The starting earthquake had a magnitude of 8.1. A tsunami, with waves up to 45 feet high, wiped areas like Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. These three regions was where the most loss of life occurred. Up to 200 people were killed in total. This was the largest earthquake of 2009. -
Chile Earthquake (Chile)
The magnitude of this earthquake was 8.8. This was also, interestingly, a megathrust earthquake. It was the strongest earthquake to affect Chile since the one in 1960. A tsunami was produced, which annihilated coastal areas like South central Chile, and parts of the port at Talcahuano. Interestingly, this earthquake was so powerful that it may have shortened the region's day by 1.26 microseconds. -
Tohoku Earthquake (Japan)
This megathrust earthquake held a magnitude of 9.1. It also produced a tsunami that caused catastrophic damage. It invaded the mainland of Japan and killed up to 20,000 people. It also caused multiple reactors to meltdown at Fukushima. This powerful earthquake also shifted the earths axis by 10 to 25 centimeters. It also caused liquefaction, making structures "float" in some areas. -
Sulawesi Earthquake (Indonesia)
This strike-slip earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5. It caused multiple landslides, as well as a tsunami. The tsunami struck Palu, which was hosting a festival at the moment. Since the detectors in Palu were destroyed in the earthquake, Palu did not receive warnings about the incoming tsunami. That being said, 4,340 uninformed people were killed in that tsunami.
