EARTHQUAKE! The word itself seems deadly and breathtaking.

So, what you do first and what comes in your mind when you hear this word shout nearby?

Or what you feel when you hear that the deadliest earthquake hit the specific regions?

What is an Earthquake and What Causes Them to Happen?

An earthquake is a forceful shaking of Earth’s surface which is caused by movements in the Earth’s outmost layer.

The Earth’s appearance is like a solid place on its surface but extremely energetic below.

In the surface of Earth, there are 4 layers which are commonly known as Crust, Mantle, Outer Core, and Inner Core.

Four Main Layers of The Earth

Tectonic plates are there through the solid crust and a mantle.

These Tectonic plates slowly move the layers below and cause pressure on Earth’s crust.

If the stresses get too large, it leads to cracks called faults and when these tectonic plates move, it also causes movement and unexpected slip on a fault leading to the deadliest earthquake.

This movement is measured in magnitude which was first recognized by Charles Richter. In fact, there is no theoretical limit to the earthquake magnitude, although it is estimated that a magnitude 11 would divide the Earth in two.

10 Largest and Deadliest Earthquakes in Human History That Shook The World

Ashgabat Earthquake (Magnitude 7.3)

Start date: October 6, 1948

Casualties: 110,000 – 176,000

Depth: Approximately16 km to 19 km

Duration‎: Approximately 9 to 11 seconds

Ashgabat Earthquake

An earthquake that hit Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, ripped the city miserable, crumpling just about all of its buildings, seriously damaging concrete constructions of Darreh Gaz of Iran.

The government has reviewed the certified death toll from 110,000 to 176,000.

Tangshan, China (Magnitude 7.8)

Start date: July 28, 1976

Casualties‎: ‎242,419

Depth: A: 12.2 km; B: 16.7 km

Duration‎: Approximately 14 to 16 seconds

Tangshan China 1976 Earthquake

Stated that this one of the deadliest earthquakes destroyed nearly all structures and valued that up to 85 % of structures collapsed.

Tangshan therefore large comprised of unenforced brick buildings which resulted in a large death toll of 242,769.

Great Kanto, Japan (7.9 Magnitude)

Start date: September 1, 1923

Casualties: 105,385–142,800 deaths

Depth‎: ‎23 km (14 mi)

Duration‎: ‎48 s 4 min

Great Kanto Japan Earthquake 1923

This earthquake brought thrilling demolition in the Tokyo – Yokohama area and the death toll of 142,800 death both.

Approximately 6 feet of permanent uplift was experienced on the north coast of Sagami Bay and horizontal movements of as much as 15 feet were measured on the Boso Peninsula.

Shaanxi, Jiajing, Huaxian China (Magnitude 8)

Start date: January 23, 1556

Casualties: 830,000

Depth‎: ‎Unknown

Duration‎: ‎Unknown

Shaanxi China Earthquake 1556

97 provinces in China were affected due to this earthquake. An estimated death toll was approximately 830,000 and a total of 520-mile areas were demolished.

In some provinces, it’s projected that more than 59% of the population was decreased. The magnitude was not much height but the destruction was recorded as the highest in history.

Assam – Tibet (Magnitude 8.6)

Start date: August 15, 1950

Casualties: 4,800

Depth‎: ‎15 km (9.3 mi)

Duration‎: ‎Unknown

Photo of 1950 Earthquake in Assam

More than 69 villages vanished in the thread of natural disasters produced by an earthquake the most destruction across the region of Assam state. Landslides claimed the lives of 1,526 people and rendered parts of the landscape unrecognizable from the air.

Near the epicentre of the earthquake, eyewitnesses stated: “explosive sounds” that appeared to come from high in the air.

Great Lisbon (Magnitude 8.7)

Start date: November 1, 1755

Casualties: 10,000–100,000 deaths

Depth‎: ‎‎Unknown

Duration‎: ‎‎Unknown

 

The overall destruction of Lisbon and the earthquake caused demises the quarter of the city’s population, which was also followed by a tsunami and fire, that was felt in North of Africa, Italy & France.

Arica, Peru (Magnitude 9)

Start date: August 13, 1868

Casualties: 25,000+

Depth‎: ‎Unknown

Duration‎: ‎Unknown

 

Stroked by the strength of the tsunami formed by the earthquake, raised the number of the dead population up to 25,000. The earthquake was stroked till La Paz in Bolivia.

Sumatra, Indonesia (Magnitude 9.1 – 9.3)

Start date: December 26, 2004

Casualties: 227,898

Depth‎: ‎30 km (19 mi)

Duration‎: ‎Between Eight and Ten Minutes

Sumatra Indonesia 2004

Indonesia was the worst affected region with an estimated 170,000 of the nearly 227,898 dead after this earthquake with 1.7 million of the victims’ bodies missing.

This earthquake in Indonesia left people around the world horrified for a long time.

Alaska (Magnitude 9.2)

Start date: March 27, 1964

Casualties: 139

Depth‎: ‎25 kilometers (16 mi)

Duration‎: ‎4–5 minutes

Alaska Earthquake 1964

The Alaska gulf was shocked by the most dangerous earthquakes ever recorded which had triggered landslides and raised parts of faraway landmasses by as much as 11 meters.

Chile (Magnitude 9.5)

Start date: May 22, 1960

Casualties: 1,000–7,000

Depth‎: ‎33 km (21 mi)

Duration‎: ‎‎Unknown

Chile 1960 Earthquake

The world’s strongest earthquake and most powerful earthquake on Magnitude Scale which left almost 2 million people homeless, 3,000 Injured and 4,485 people killed approximately.

As for the record, this was listed on the top in the strongest, biggest and deadliest earthquake of the history.

Things to Know About Earthquakes

Numerous deadliest earthquakes occurred in the last 10 years as well but mentioned are more than to-be-called deadliest. It is suggested that everyone should be prepared and know how to deal when an earthquake starts shaking us all up.

We cannot stop earthquakes, but we can learn and discover the ways to protect ourselves from damaging earthquakes.

Some ways we might stop some damage from earthquakes in the future are the construction of houses and buildings with the material such as a combination of steel and rubber plates to absorb the shock of the earthquake.

Another easy and thing of safety from the deadliest earthquakes is for the government of a city to invest in a proper seismograph center, which will be monitored 24/7.

This will help them examine the waves of the earthquake and make people aware beforehand.