Top 10 Biggest Earthquakes in History
Earthquakes are probably the worst calamities which can happen on this planet. They can not be predicted and this is what makes them so dangerous.
There have been numerous earthquakes over the course of time, the most recent being the one from Japan which took place yesterday, March, 11, 2011. In what follows I am going to present you the top ten biggest earthquakes.
This 7.3 magnitude earthquake took place in October 6, 1948. The news about the disaster quickly broke out, and to everyone’s surprise, only 10,000 people lost their lives.
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However, it was later found out that the death toll was actually of 110,000 people, and that the Soviets tried to downplay the disaster.
Japan, the most earthquake prone country in the world, suffered from one of the most intense earthquakes in 1730. Just like in the case of yesterday’s earthquake, the 1730 one created tsunami waves as well.
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137,000 people lost their lives because of it.
This earthquake which took place in 1923 was unique, as a typhoon affected the area in the same time as well. On top of that, firestorms resulted because of it, as if the two calamities were not enough.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kantō_earthquake)
142,000 people lost their lives, but probably the most shocking news was the fact that almost 40,000 people were incinerated in less than 20 minutes by a huge fire.
Iran is prone to earthquakes as well. This earthquake which took place in 893 killed more than 150,000 people.
In 1997 the exact same area where the 893 earthquake took place was hit by an earthquake as well.
The region of Haiyuan from China is located in the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, which is a very intense region from a geological point of view.
(mizozo.com/profile/matilda/profile_articles/page5.html)
Just like in the case of the Pacific Plate, which caused the Japan earthquake, there are lots of fault lines, which often hit or touch each other. This earthquake caused the death of more than 200,000 people.
