Natural phenomena can be devastating. We all know the destructive power of earthquakes. But, what have been the most devastating earthquakes in history of the planet (or at least those that are known)?
What have been the most devastating earthquakes in history
The earthquakes They are natural phenomena with great destructive power, which throughout history have claimed numerous human lives. However, there are some earthquakes that, due to their strength or the consequences they had, are considered the most devastating in history:
Valdivia earthquake
It happened in 1960. It is considered the most devastating earthquake in history. This earthquake occurred in Chili It was preceded by previous shocks of almost 8 degrees on the Richter scale. This earthquake itself had a magnitude of 9.5 degrees on the Richter scale, making it the strongest measured to date. Around 8,000 people lost their lives and there were more than 2 million victims. All hell for the local population and adjacent countries.
Chile earthquake
In addition to Valdivia, Several other regions of Chile have suffered the devastating consequences of earthquakes of enormous magnitude, such as the one that occurred on July 8, 1730 in Valparaíso8.7 degrees on the Richter scale.
Apart from Valparaíso, the most affected cities were Santiago, La Serena and La Concepción, which should be noted as being among the most populated cities on that date, so the death toll reached more than 3,000 and wounded, 5,000.
In 2010, Chile shook again on February 27 of this year with an earthquake of magnitude 8.8, giving rise to a state of constitutional exception in the regions of Maule and Biobío. The consequences of this earthquake that lasted up to 4 minutes, there were about 500 fatalities, millions of people affected and destruction in numerous homes.
As happened in 1730 in Valparaíso, in 2010 there was also a tsunami after the earthquakeso even more towns and cities were affected.
Chile has not only experienced some of the most devastating earthquakes in history, but also one of the deadliest. was the happened on January 25, 1939 in the city of Chillán, where the number of fatalities is between 24,000 and 40,000. This number of deaths is due to the time the tremor occurred, since it took place at night, when most people were in their homes, so most of the residents of this Peruvian city did not have time to leave their homes and seek refuge.
Many fatalities occurred after the earthquake due to various diseases that took place, lack of hygiene, water and food.
Ecuador earthquake
One of the most recent catastrophes in the memory of Latin America is the earthquake of April 16, 2016 occurred in Ecuador. The tremor, with a magnitude of 7.8, left 671 dead and 12 people missing.
More than 80,000 were displaced from their homes, around 70,000 buildings were affected and the damage caused was valued at 175,000 million dollars, according to the UN. In addition, in the areas of Manabí and Esmeraldas, a state of emergency was declared as they were the most affected, since some of their localities were almost 80% destroyed, making access by land impossible.
Only 113 people could be rescued alive from this catastrophe.
Haiti earthquake
In 2010, one of the earthquakes that left the greatest mark in the history of the 21st century took place. On January 12 of that year, the ground shook with tremendous force in Haiti, andhe poorest country in the American continent.
The earthquake of 7.3 degrees on the Richter scale devastated much of the country and with the lives of 316,000 people, a figure that makes it one of the greatest human catastrophes in history, also taking into account the lack of resources and the precariousness of construction in this country.
The earthquake left meMore than 350,000 people were injured and one and a half million people were left homeless. Dozens of victims were rescued alive from the rubble even days after the event.
The earthquake was so strong that neighboring countries like Jamaica, Cuba or the Dominican Republic experienced aftershocksproducing evacuations, but without victims.
To this day, after suffering other hurricanes and earthquakes, Haiti continues with its recovery process.
Peru earthquake
One of the most important earthquakes in Peruvian history is the occurred in Lima on October 28, 1746.
It took place at night and lasted between three and four minutes. Due to the recorded tremor, 10,000 people lost their lives between the towns of Lima, Callao and other nearby towns, and only in Lima there were 25 houses standing out of the 3,000 that made up the city.
The days that followed were of anguish on the part of the population, both for the earth will not cease to tremble as if by the threat of famine and epidemics. Thanks to the measures adopted by the authorities of the date, the population was soon able to stock up on food, but in the same way more than two thousand deaths from dysentery and liver colic were recorded after the earthquake.
Guatemala earthquake
Latin America is one of the regions of the planet most affected by this type of phenomenon. And countries like Guatemala can attest to this.
In the mid-1970s, an earthquake in Guatemala caused terror in the country. It was a brief tremor, which did not even last a minute. But his virulence was enough to cause havoc in a country that, in turn, was plunged into a very difficult social, political and economic situation.
Thus, the 1976 earthquake in Guatemala was measured at 7.5 degrees on the Richter scale, and had fatal consequences for the Guatemalan population. Official data speak of more than 20,000 deaths, and almost 100,000 wounded. To this we must add the large number of people who were left homeless, the great material losses, and how difficult it was to recover in a country plunged into civil war and absolute political and economic chaos.
Nicaragua earthquake
Only 30 seconds were enough for the earthquake that Managua sufferedin Nicaragua, on December 23, 1972 caused 10,000 deaths and twice as many wounded.
Approximate figures, since many of the bodies could not be retrieved from the rubble, as the city was almost completely destroyed. This led to these corpses decomposing under the ruins of the buildings, giving rise to a stench in the streets that lasted almost five months until the rains came.
to the earthquake Weeks of fires from burst pipes, thirst, hunger and looting followed.. A chaos from which Managua took at least 20 years to recover and also to restore most of its buildings. Today, the traces of this terrible earthquake can still be seen in this city.
Sumatra-Andaman earthquake earthquake
Occurred in 2004, it is probably the one that had the most devastating consequences. With epicenter off the coast of Sumatrathis earthquake caused devastating tsunamis that devastated thousands of kilometers of coastline and killed around 250,000 peoplein a natural catastrophe almost without precedent in the contemporary era.
japan earthquake
One of the most remembered also in our modern history is the earthquake in Japan, which caused waves of enormous magnitude that reached the coasts of numerous countries and that also caused the accident at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. It is also remembered as one of the most devastating earthquakes in history (9.1 degrees on the Richter scale) and left a trail of about 16,000 dead. It must be said that both in this case and in the previous one we are dealing with earthquakes that had their epicenter in the sea, that is, tidal waves.
alaskan earthquake
There are other earthquakes in which more human lives have been lost, but the alaskan earthquake It is one of the most devastating for its destructive capacity. It caused the death of around 160 people and material losses worth more than 300 million dollars. It is the second strongest earthquake ever measured, reaching 9.2 degrees on the Richter scale.
Arica earthquake in Chile
Finally, we have another one of the earthquakes that caused huge losses and a large number of human casualties. This is the earthquake in Arica, in Chile, 9 degrees on the Richter scale and in which around 25,000 people died. This earthquake was devastating for numerous populations in the south of Peru, some of them today belonging to Chile, as is the case of Iquique and Arica itself.
Undoubtedly, earthquakes can be devastating, not only by themselves, but also because of the tsunamis and destructive waves that they can generate.
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