Devastating earthquake disasters in the past 100 years

2004: earthquake in the Indian Ocean - the largest recorded disaster in modern history

On December 26, 2004, a 9.3 magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean created a terrible tsunami that hit the coasts of 14 countries, killing more than 220,000 people, considered a disaster. largest recorded in modern history.

Tsunami waves with heights of up to 30 m completely destroyed coastal residential areas where the tsunami passed, killing hundreds of thousands of people in coastal countries such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

Devastating earthquake disasters in the past 100 years Picture 1

The earthquake in the Indian Ocean also shook the ground with an intensity 100 times stronger than the seven-magnitude earthquake called Loma Prieta, which occurred in 1989 in the United States. When earthquakes only last a few seconds, the Sumatra - Andaman earthquake lasted nearly 10 minutes, causing other earthquakes as far away as Alaska (USA), causing the entire Earth to move at least a few centimeters. Notably, the earthquake in the Indian Ocean region triggered a series of giant tsunamis throughout the region, causing widespread destruction, all the way from Somalia in east Africa to Sumatra in the Southeast. ASIAN.

It is estimated that the tsunamis claimed the lives of about 230,000 people, left 14,100 people missing and more than a million others in 11 countries had to evacuate due to loss of homes. Indonesia's northern Aceh province was one of the areas that suffered the greatest damage, with about 128,858 people dead. To date, there are still thousands of victims of this disaster who have not been identified.

1976: Earthquake in Tangshan (China) - caused the most casualties

This is the most terrible earthquake of the 20th century, considered the earthquake that caused the most casualties of the 20th century, above the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. This earthquake destroyed almost the entire industrial city. Tangshan industry, home to about 1.6 million Chinese people.

According to statistics, about 240,000-255,000 people were killed in this earthquake. An estimated 164,000 others were seriously injured.

In 2010, this event was made into a movie called 'The Great Tangshan Earthquake'. Immediately after its release, the film caused a deep psychological shock to the audience about the devastating natural disaster.

2011: Terrifying double disaster in Japan

The world cannot forget the horrifying double disaster that occurred at 2:00 p.m. on March 11, 2011 in Japan. At exactly 2:46 p.m. local time, the magnitude 9.1 Honshu earthquake started off the coast of Honshu island in the northeast of the country, causing a tsunami up to 40 meters high to hit the mainland, destroying everything in its path. It.

According to official statistics, this disaster wiped out many towns and claimed the lives of about 20,000 people. The number of injured people is nearly 2,400 and the number of people exposed to radiation is 190 people. About 100,300 houses were completely destroyed or partially damaged by the earthquake and tsunami.

The disaster caused consecutive incidents at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants No. 1 and 2, and caused many other nuclear power plants to shut down.

At the Fukushima nuclear power plant located near the coast, the tsunami attack completely damaged the nuclear fuel rod cooling systems, causing a serious disaster, leaving surrounding residential areas contaminated with radiation. . In many places, 10 years later, people still cannot live again.

The double disaster on March 11, 2011 left the entire country of Japan in the worst situation since World War II.

1960: The largest earthquake ever recorded was magnitude 9.5 in Valdivia (Chile).

The largest recorded earthquake occurred in Valdivia (Chile) on May 21, 1960 with a magnitude of 9.5, causing a tsunami, killing 5,000 people. This is the strongest earthquake to have occurred since 1900, causing a terrible disaster in the history of earthquakes in this country and around the world.

That terrible earthquake began in the early morning of May 21, 1960 in the sea near the Chilean port city of Puerto Montt, continuously occurred and lasted until June 23 with increasing levels. more intense.

The earthquake reached its maximum intensity at around 7:00 p.m. on May 22. The initial earthquake level was 8.9 and then increased to 9.5 on the Richter scale. The terrible earthquake destroyed almost all facilities of the port city of Puerto Montt, thousands of people were buried in the rubble.

It then triggered a series of tsunami waves. Tsunami waves affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeastern Australia and the Aleutian and Valdivia Islands. The tremor caused a localized tsunami that hit the Chilean coast, with waves up to 25 meters high. The main tsunami traveled across the Pacific and devastated Hilo, Hawaii, where waves as high as 10.7 meters were recorded more than 10,000 kilometers from the epicenter.

2008: Sichuan earthquake - one of the deadliest earthquakes in Chinese history

On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, one of the most devastating earthquakes in Chinese history with a magnitude of 7.8 occurred in Sichuan province (China). The tragedy left more than 87,000 people dead and more than 370,000 injured, tens of thousands of people lost relatives and friends, falling into a situation of "darkness". Most buildings in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces collapsed and had to be rebuilt from scratch. It is estimated that the area damaged by the earthquake is 500,000 square kilometers, an area nearly equal to Spain, with economic losses of up to 845 billion yuan (133 billion USD).

The saddest thing is that more than 5,300 students died in the earthquake, and it is estimated that at least 7,444 schools were destroyed.

With a magnitude of 8.0, the earthquake caused the largest number of seismic aftershocks ever recorded, including approximately 200,000 landslides. The effects of the earthquake were felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai, Thailand and Vietnam.

The International Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) records that each year there are about 20,000 tremors occurring worldwide. That is, on average, there is a ground shaking every 50 days. There are actually millions of tremors every year, but because they are so weak they are not mentioned. It is estimated that every 30 seconds, the world is affected by an earthquake.

In particular, the Pacific Ring of Fire region often experiences strong ground shaking or volcanic eruptions. It contains about 75% of the world's volcanoes. It is estimated that about 71% of the world's strongest tremors take place in this horseshoe-shaped belt. The Pacific Ring of Fire is also influenced by nearly 80% of plate tectonic activity.

Causes of earthquakes

An earthquake is a ground vibration caused by the sudden release of energy in the earth's crust in the form of seismic waves, which can cause ground deformation, destroy houses and structures, and cause loss of human life. .

Earthquakes are a cause of tsunamis. When an earthquake occurs in the ocean, the seismic force pushes the huge mass of water up. Several hundred square kilometers of water were pushed up and then fell, creating large waves that swept across the oceans and landed on land. Sometimes earthquakes also cause volcanoes to become active, even volcanoes that have long been extinct, because the ground is cracked, creating opportunities for magma flows to erupt. These phenomena, when combined together, will create unpredictable disasters.

Magnitude of the earthquake

The magnitude of the earthquake M is also known as the Richter scale. Visualize the Richter scale as follows:

From 1 - 2: Unable to recognize.

From 2 - 4: Can be detected but usually does not cause damage.

From 4 to 5: The ground shook, explosions were heard, minor damage.

From 5 to 6: Houses shook, some buildings had cracks.

From 6 to 7: Houses were slightly damaged.

From 7 to 8: Strong earthquake destroys most common construction works, there are large cracks or subsidence on the ground.

From 8 to 9: Houses were ruined, the ground sank up to 1 meter deep, a major collapse in the mountains accompanied by widespread terrain changes.

Above 9: Very rare.

Earthquakes with M > 7 do not occur everywhere but are often concentrated in certain areas, called zones of strong seismic activity.

Marvin Fry

Update 03 April 2024