the worst earthquakes of history
The March 11th seems to be a tragic date. Today – as we commemorate the seventh anniversary of the terrible attack on the 11 M in Madrid– We woke up with the news of the terrible earthquake in Japan. With an intensity of 8.9 on the Richter scaleIts about worst earthquake in history of this country and the fifth largest in the world of which there is a record. In this article we will review where and how the strongest earthquakes in history have been.
The earthquakes They are a natural disaster that occurs as a result of the displacement of the tectonic plates of the earth’s crust. Their history it is as long as that of the Earth itself, but only from the beginning of the 19th century is there a systematic record of them. Currently, the method to quantify the intensity of an earthquake is the always mentioned “Richter scale”, which was introduced in the 1930s.
It should be noted that the intensity of a earthquake on the Richter scale it is not necessarily linked to the seriousness of its consequences. This depends on where it occurs. If it is in a densely populated area, there will surely be many more victims and material damage than if it occurs in an unpopulated area. If the affected city does not have anti-seismic buildings, the consequences are even worse. A clear example of this has been the 2010 Haiti earthquakewhich with 7.0 degrees has left more than 300,000 fatalities.
On the other hand, when the earthquake occurs in the ocean, it generates a huge displacement of water known as seaquake either tsunami. A surge of several meters high hits the coast with an absolutely devastating effect. This is what happened today after the japan earthquake. And what we all remember in the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean that affected several countries in the south and southeast of Asia causing around 230,000 fatalities.
So let’s see what were the 5 strongest earthquakes in history that have been registered:
1. Valdivia earthquake (Chile):
Date: May 22, 1960
Magnitude: 9.5 degrees on the Richter scale.
Epicenter: Valdivia, 38°14′24″S73°3′0″W
Fatalities: 5,700 to 10,000 approximately
Affected: 2,000,000 people.
Direct consequences: Valdivia sank 4 meters below sea level, the volcano erupted Puyehuegenerated a tsunami in the Pacificor that it spread over thousands of kilometres.
2. Alaska earthquake (USA):
Date: March 28, 1964
Magnitude: 9.2 degrees on the Richter scale
Epicenter: Anchorage, AK61°N 148°W.
Fatalities: 128
Direct consequences: soil uplift of up to 15 m in an area of 520,000 square kilometers.
3. Kamchatka earthquake (Russia):
Date: November 4, 1952
Magnitude: 9.0 degrees on the Richter scale
Epicenter: Peninsula of Kamchatka, 52°48′N 159°30’E
Fatalities: none
Material damage: between 800,000 and 1,000,000 U$S.
Direct consequences: a tsunami up to 3.2 meters high that spread for about 3000 km in distance.
4. Indian Ocean earthquake
Date: December 26, 2004
Magnitude: 9.0 degrees on the Richter scale
Epicenters: Off north of Sumatra3,316, 95,854
Fatalities: 229,866
Affected: approximately 2 million people
Direct consequences: caused a terrible tsunami causing the highest mortality, and that affected 14 countries.
5. Japan earthquake
Date: March 11, 2011
Magnitude: 8.9 degrees on the Richter scale
Epicenter: Coast of Honshu38°19′19.20″N142°22′8.40″E
Fatalities: still unknown.
Direct consequences: proved a tsunami hit the shores of Japan. the entire coast of Peaceful is on alert for probable tidal waves.
More information
Images:
Valdivia earthquake, in earthquake1960.cl
Tsunami 2004 off the coast of Thailand, at en.wikipedia.org
Map with location of the epicenters, at maps.google.com.