The United States Geological Survey maintains a database of historic earthquakes throughout the world (Ref. 1). The table below is extracted from that database; it includes more than 427 major earthquakes, based upon the magnitude and the degree of destruction. All recorded earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or greater are listed, even if the fatalities are unknown or small. For recent years, smaller earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or larger have been included if the death toll is significant. The death toll is often a rough estimate; in many cases the true toll could be much greater. More details on the exact location and degree of destruction can be found in Refs. 1 and 2.
The magnitude is given on the Richter scale, which was developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology as a mathematical device to compare the size of earthquakes. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured by the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs. Adjustments are included for the variation in the distance between the various seismographs and the epicenter of the earthquake. On the Richter scale, magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions, e.g., 6.3. Because of the logarithmic basis of the scale, each whole number increase in magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude; as an estimate of energy, each whole number step in the magnitude scale corresponds to the release of about 31 times more energy than the amount associated with the preceding whole number value.
Date | Location | Magnitude | Fatalities |
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856/12/22 | Damghan, Iran | 200,000 | |
893/03/23 | Ardabil, Iran | 150,000 | |
1138/08/09 | Aleppo, Syria | 230,000 | |
1268 | Silicia, Asia Minor | 60,000 | |
1290/09/27 | Chihli, China | 100,000 | |
1556/01/23 | Shensi, China | 8.0 | 830,000 |
1619/02/14 | Trujillo, Peru | 7.7 | 350 |
1667/11 | Shemakha, Caucasia | 80,000 | |
1668/08/17 | Anatolia, Turkey | 8.0 | |
1687/10/20 | Lima, Peru | 8.5 | |
1693/01/11 | Sicily, Italy | 7.5 | 60,000 |
1700/01/26 | Cascadia Subduction Zone (Oregon to British Columbia) | 9.0 | |
1727/11/18 | Tabriz, Iran | 77,000 | |
1730/07/08 | Valparasio, Chile | 8.7 | |
1755/11/01 | Lisbon, Portugal | 8.7 | 70,000 |
1783/02/04 | Calabria, Italy | 50,000 | |
1787/05/02 | Puerto Rico | 8.0 | |
1811/12/16 | New Madrid region, Missouri | 8.1 | |
1812/02/07 | New Madrid region, Missouri | 8.0 |
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