Top 5 Most Destructive Earthquakes Ever!

As humans, we’re usually fraught with the notion of being the most superior race on the planet. But that’s only till the time we come face to face with natural calamities; when the brute force of nature confounds us, shatters us and leaves behind a trail of death and despair.

Indeed, there’s nothing as destructive as nature’s fury and earthquakes top the list in terms of ferocity and damage caused. While heart-wrenching images of the recent Nepal Earthquake (that occurred in April 2015) still haunt our memories, this calamity was nowhere close to the Top 5 Most Destructive Earthquakes, ever witnessed by mankind! Here’s a look at them:-

1. Valdivia Earthquake, Chile(1960)

In terms of magnitude, the Valdivia Earthquake in Chile has been the biggest earthquake that mankind has ever witnessed on planet earth. With its epicentre being in a small town known as Lumaco, this was a full-blown 9.5 scale earthquake that killed over 5000 people, and causes monetary damage to a tune of 400 million dollars! While this massive quake itself lasted for around 10 minutes, it caused numerous landslides, as well as a tsunami in the Pacific, affecting different regions in Japan, Philippines, New Zealand, Hawaii, etc.

2. The Great Alaskan Earthquake, USA (1964)

Incidentally, this earthquake took place on Good Friday, with its epicentre in Prince William Sound, Alaska and a scale of 9.2 is the 2nd most massive, ever to have occurred on this planet. The areas affected directly by the quake were not just restricted to the United States, but also covered Canada, while the after-effect tsunami caused massive havoc in Japan and Hawaii. While the total casualties were reported to be 139 (since the quake lasted for approximately four minutes only), the damage incurred was worth 311 million dollars!

3. The Indian Ocean Earthquake (2004)

In terms of magnitude, this earthquake has been the 3rd most massive, having occurred at a scale of 9.1, and its focal point off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Triggered by a collision of the Indian tectonic plate with the Burma tectonic plate, the death toll of this violent calamity was above 200,000 spread over 14 countries and the total monetary loss is yet to be estimated, because the resulting tsunami caused worldwide havoc, affecting regions as far as Malaysia, Thailand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, Maldives and many other small islands on the Indian ocean. Coastal structures were swept out in one go and thousands of people were reported missing.

4. The Tohoku Earthquake, Japan (2011)

The harrowing images of this terrible earthquake are probably still fresh in the minds of millennials, who probably witnessed the widespread news coverage of this 9.0 magnitude quake. The whole of Japan was very badly affected in this unfortunate natural event, while its actual epicentre was in the Oshika Peninsula. This megathrust earthquake lasted for almost 6 minutes, and triggered damages to such a high extent that electricity and water supply was completely severed off in over 4 million Japanese households. Yet another great tragedy was associated with this quake was the resulting nuclear accidents that caused radioactive explosions.

5. Kamchatka Earthquake, Russia (1952)

This comprised of a series of earthquakes of various magnitudes (the highest being 9.0), which also lead to a tsunami in the Pacific Ocean. A number of settlements in the erstwhile Soviet Union were destroyed, the death toll crossing 2000. The tsunami wave triggered was as high as 59 feet and as per former Soviet government records, the entire population in the Kamchatka settlements had to be rehabilitated!