Largest And Deadliest Earthquake Since 1906

Insync

-Staff

By Staff

Thursday, May 15, 2008, 11:16

It gives a deadly visit in the most unexpected time with such great shiver that it winds up thousands of souls in its death rope within seconds. Thats the power and agony of earthquakes. Here is the biggest and deadliest earthquake since 1906. Read the disastrous story of the power of earthquakes.

Chile : May 22, 1960 - Largest Earthquake
Nearly five decades ago, it was the cause of death for nearly 5,000. The earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale struck Santiago and Concepcion, triggering tidal waves and volcanic eruptions It left 3,000 injured, and 2,000,000 homeless. The temblor caused 0 million in damage, and the destruction didn't end there, the earthquake also caused a tsunami that resulted in 61 deaths and million damage in Hawaii; 138 deaths and million damage in Japan; 32 deaths in the Philippines; and 0,000 in damage to the west coast of the United States. This is the largest earthquake of the 20th Century. The rupture zone is estimated to be about 1000 km long, from Lebu to Puerto Aisen.

2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea (subduction) earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004, with quake measuring 9.0 struck the coast of Aceh province on the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra . It triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history as the monstrous earthquake killed more than 2,25,000 people in eleven countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 feet). The countries that were affected the most were Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.

According to a research, the total energy of the tsunami waves was equivalent to about five megatons of TNT (20 petajoules). This is more than twice the total explosive energy used during all of World War II. Another interesting fact about the tsunami is it occurred exactly one year after the 2003 Bam earthquake and exactly two years before the 2006 Hengchun earthquake.

According to US Geological Survey the disastrous earthquakes cannot be predicted even with all the latest technologies, but we can get prepared for the worst moment. Read about how to prepare for major earthquakes in our forthcoming article.