Deadliest Earthquakes on Record

	in Daily Almanac for Oct 29, 2005
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World—Geography—World Geography—Earthquakes

Deadliest Earthquakes on Record

(50,000 deaths or more)

Date	Location	Deaths	Magnitude
Jan. 23, 1556	Shansi, China	830,000	n.a.
Dec. 26, 2004	off west coast of northern Sumatra	225,000+	9.0
July 27, 1976	Tangshan, China	255,000¹	8.0
Aug. 9, 1138	Aleppo, Syria	230,000	n.a.
May 22, 1927	near Xining, China	200,000	8.3
Dec. 22, 856²	Damghan, Iran	200,000	n.a.
Dec. 16, 1920	Gansu, China	200,000	8.6
March 23, 893²	Ardabil, Iran	150,000	n.a.
Sept. 1, 1923	Kwanto, Japan	143,000	8.3
Oct. 5, 1948	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, USSR	110,000	7.3
Dec. 28, 1908	Messina, Italy	70,000– 100,000³	7.5
Sept. 1290	Chihli, China	100,000	n.a.
Nov. 1667	Shemakha, Caucasia	80,000	n.a.
Nov. 18, 1727	Tabriz, Iran	77,000	n.a.
Nov. 1, 1755	Lisbon, Portugal	70,000	8.7
Dec. 25, 1932	Gansu, China	70,000	7.6
May 31, 1970	Peru	66,000	7.8
1268⁴	Silicia, Asia Minor	60,000	n.a.
Jan. 11, 1693	Sicily, Italy	60,000	n.a.
May 30, 1935	Quetta, Pakistan	30,000– 60,000	7.5
Feb. 4, 1783	Calabria, Italy	50,000	n.a.
June 20, 1990	Iran	50,000	7.7

1. Official. Estimated death toll as high as 655,000.

2. Note that these dates are prior to A.D. 1000. No digit is missing.

4. No date available.

Source: National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey. Data compiled from several sources.

Information Please® Database, © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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