In this article we have collected the most strong earthquakes in the history of mankind, which became catastrophes on a universal scale.

Every year, experts record about 500,000 tremors. All of them have different strengths, but only some of them are really noticeable and cause damage, and a few have a strong destructive force.

1. Chile, May 22, 1960

One of the worst earthquakes occurred in 1960 in Chile. Its magnitude was 9.5. 1,655 people became victims of this natural phenomenon, more than 3,000 were injured of varying degrees of severity, and 2,000,000 were left homeless! Experts estimate that the damage from it amounted to $550,000,000. But besides this, this earthquake caused a tsunami that reached the Hawaiian Islands and killed 61 people.

2. Tien Shan, July 28, 1976

The magnitude of the earthquake in the Tien Shan was 8.2. This is a terrible incident only because official version claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people, and unofficial sources voice the figure of 700,000. And this may indeed be true, because during the earthquake, 5.6 million buildings were completely destroyed.

3. Alaska, March 28, 1964

This earthquake caused 131 deaths. Of course, this is not enough when compared with other disasters. But the magnitude of the tremors that day was 9.2, as a result of which almost all buildings were destroyed, and the damage caused amounted to $2,300,000,000 (adjusted for inflation).

4. Chile, February 27, 2010

This yet another devastating earthquake in Chile brought significant damage to the city: millions of destroyed homes, dozens of flooded settlements, broken bridges and highways. But most importantly, approximately 1,000 people died, 1,200 people went missing, and 1.5 million homes were damaged to varying degrees. Its magnitude was 8.8. Chilean authorities estimate the amount of damage to be more than $15,000,000,000.

5. Sumatra, December 26, 2004

The magnitude of the earthquake was 9.1. Mass earthquakes and the subsequent tsunami killed more than 227,000 people. Almost all the houses in the city were leveled to the ground. In addition to the huge number of local residents affected, over 9,000 foreign tourists vacationing in the regions affected by the tsunami were killed or missing.

6. Honshu Island, March 11, 2011

An earthquake that occurred on the island of Honshu shook the entire eastern coast of Japan. In just 6 minutes of a 9-point disaster, more than 100 km of the seabed was raised to an 8-meter height and collapsed on the northern islands. Even the Fukushima nuclear power plant was partially damaged, causing a radioactive release. Authorities have officially stated that the number of victims is 15,000; local residents claim that these figures are greatly underestimated.

The earthquake in Neftegorsk had a magnitude of 7.6. It completely destroyed the village in just 17 seconds! 55,400 people lived in the area affected by the disaster. Of these, 2,040 died and 3,197 were left homeless. Neftegorsk did not recover. The affected people were resettled to other settlements.

8. Alma-Ata, January 4, 1911

This earthquake is better known as the Kemin earthquake, since its epicenter was in the valley of the Bolshoy Kemin River. It is the strongest in the history of Kazakhstan. Characteristic feature This catastrophe was due to the long duration of the destructive oscillation phase. As a result, the city of Almaty was almost completely destroyed, and huge relief gaps formed in the river area, the total length of which was 200 km. In some places, entire houses were buried in the ruptures.

9. Kanto Province, September 1, 1923

This earthquake began on September 1, 1923 and lasted 2 days! In total, during this time, 356 tremors occurred in this province of Japan, the first of which were the strongest - the magnitude reached 8.3 points. Due to the change in the position of the seabed, it caused 12-meter tsunami waves. As a result of numerous aftershocks, 11,000 buildings were destroyed, fires started and strong winds quickly spread the fire. As a result, another 59 buildings and 360 bridges burned down. The official death toll was 174,000, with another 542,000 people still missing. Over 1,000,000 people were left homeless.

10. Himalayas, August 15, 1950

This earthquake occurred in the highlands of Tibet. Its magnitude was 8.6 points, and the energy corresponded to the force of the explosion 100,000 atomic bombs. The stories of eyewitnesses about this tragedy were terrifying - a deafening roar erupted from the bowels of the earth, underground vibrations caused attacks of seasickness in people, and cars were thrown to a distance of 800 m. One section of the railway track sank 5 m underground. There were 1,530 victims people, but the damage from the disaster amounted to $20,000,000.

11. Haiti, January 12, 2010

The strength of the main shock of this earthquake was 7.1 points, but it was followed by a series of repeated vibrations, the magnitude of which was 5 points or more. This disaster killed 220,000 people and injured 300,000. More than 1,000,000 people lost their homes. Material damage from this disaster is estimated at 5,600,000,000 euros.

12. San Francisco, April 18, 1906

The magnitude of the surface waves of this earthquake was 7.7. The tremors were felt throughout California. The worst thing is that they provoked a huge fire, which destroyed almost the entire center of San Francisco. The list of disaster victims included more than 3,000 people. Half of San Francisco's population lost their homes.

13. Messina, December 28, 1908

This was one of the largest earthquakes in Europe. It struck both Sicily and southern Italy, killing approximately 120,000 people. The main epicenter of the tremors, the city of Messina, was virtually destroyed. This 7.5 magnitude earthquake was accompanied by a tsunami that hit the entire coast. The death toll was more than 150,000 people.

14. Haiyuan Province, December 16, 1920

This earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8. It destroyed almost all houses in the cities of Lanzhou, Taiyuan and Xi'an. More than 230,000 people died. Witnesses claimed that waves from the earthquake were visible even off the coast of Norway.

15. Kobe, January 17, 1995

This is one of the most powerful earthquakes in Japan. Its strength was 7.2 points. A significant part of the population of this densely populated region experienced the destructive force of this disaster. In total, more than 5,000 people were killed and 26,000 were injured. A huge number of buildings were razed to the ground. The American Geological Survey estimated all damage at $200,000,000.

Everyone good day, I am very glad to welcome those who are interested not only in games or shopping, but also in world affairs. It is about the problems associated with disasters that I wanted to talk today.

World disasters, one way or another, affect the life of every person on the planet. And it doesn’t matter in what part of the earth an earthquake, flood or volcanic eruption occurred. Some people always suffer, while others sympathize and try to help.

Unfortunately, scientists cannot fully understand how to predict a terrible event. Take, for example, an earthquake. This is extremely dangerous phenomenon nature, which cannot be predicted. Scientists' calculations made it possible to learn about future tremors earth's surface only a few hours before they start.

But even here there may be danger in the calculations, because the earthquake can be much stronger than predicted. The most effective predictor of impending disaster is animals. Many people say that animals are closer to the earth and are more connected to it. So love your pets and they can save your life.

The danger of earth tremors awaits those residents whose houses are located in mountainous areas. After all, mountains are peculiar scars in places of fracture of titanic plates. Fortunately, most earthquakes occur at the bottom of the oceans, but this also poses a danger for coastal living areas. It is almost impossible to escape from a strong tsunami.

The most powerful earthquake in human history: tragedy in Chile

The most powerful earthquake in human history occurred just off the coast Pacific Ocean and practically destroyed Chile in 1960. By different sources The force of the tremors on the ocean floor at the epicenter was about 10 points. It is worth looking at the consequences of the wave that destroyed large coastal cities almost to the ground.

The tsunami that hit Chile destroyed not only residential areas, but also industry, everything had to be rebuilt. At that time it cost more than 400 billion dollars.

The strongest earthquakes in the world on the Richter scale: top 5

It is impossible to predict where the next earthquake will occur. How many people will suffer? We only know that over the last hundred years the number of severe disasters in human history has increased.

List of known largest earthquakes:

• The Kemin earthquake is considered one of the largest inland earthquakes. It took place in Kazakhstan in 1911, then, with an amplitude of 9 points, it almost completely collapsed Almaty city.
• The next most destructive earthquake, after the Chilean one, happened in Alaska in 1964. Due to the low population density in this part of the earth, only 9 people were affected by the 9.5 magnitude tremors, plus 190 drowned. But due to the huge wave, the coasts of Canada, Japan and California were seriously damaged.
• In 1952, a magnitude 9 earthquake occurred off the coast of Kamchatka. And the rising giant wave 17 meters high swept away Severo-Kurilsk Almost completely, a third of the residents of the city and nearby settlements died as a result.
• Indian tsunami, which drowned most of the coastal cities of Indonesia, Thailand, southern India and Sri Lanka in 2004. Earth tremors began near the island Sumatra. Then the disaster took the lives of more than 300 thousand people.
• But most catastrophic earthquake counts Japanese. Although it took place quite recently in 2011, it brought not only destruction to its country. The earthquake caused a tsunami that damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The echoes of that disaster can still be heard. And the radioactive cloud hung over the ocean for a long time, and the whole world watched its movement with bated breath.

Is it possible to prepare for underground unrest? Can you predict what consequences it will bring? Is there salvation and where to look for it?

Many questions arise in a person when he thinks about this. Problem current person It’s not that he’s not prepared for disasters, he just doesn’t think about them. After watching TV and sympathizing with the victims, we forget about everything. We don’t think that our country is also located at the intersection of titanic plate faults, and in Russia, like nowhere else, the probability of earthquakes is high.

A little theory about earthquakes

Thanks to modern scientific achievements, scientists have suggested that tremors occur almost every day in the world. We do not feel most of them, due to the great depth of the epicenter or its small strength.

A person will feel tremors or a wave only starting from 3 points; before this, the force is so weak that only instruments can detect the impulse. Some people believe that there are many more earthquakes during the full moon.

The causes of underground disturbances can be not only natural, but also caused by humans. Regular weapons testing or mining disrupts the landscape and structure of the earth's surface. The most dangerous human impact is the adjustment of mountainous terrain. As you know, this is where earthquakes most often occur.

It’s just difficult for people to prove that they are wrong and that they need to change their way of life so that after us our descendants can live peacefully for thousands of years.

World wars and human cruelty towards brothers lead to the fact that cataclysms began to occur more and more often. After all, the earth is also a living and intelligent organism...

Imagine yourself in her place, not only are they constantly pumping out oil, extracting metals, but they are also fighting, destroying not only people, but also environment, poisoning with lead and burning thousands of kilometers of land.

As a result, the soil dies, and with it all the plants. There is so much beauty in the world, can a person never grow up? A rational being cannot treat nature with such disrespect.

How to behave during an earthquake

Each of us learned the rules of behavior during earthly discussions back in school. Even regular drills mean preparation both physically and psychologically.

How might he react? a common person when does the earthquake start? The first is fear, and it’s good if you pull yourself together quickly enough, get your bearings and go to a safe distance from the surrounding buildings, which may collapse if the shocks are strong.

But when panic sets in, it most often occurs in office buildings, where workers are under stress every day. And then a disaster happened, running around began instead of constructive evacuation.

At the first tremors, you should hide under the table, then if a wall or ceiling collapses, you will suffer less, and it will be easier for rescuers to find you. If you decide to leave the building, you should do so at the first tremors before they become stronger or surrounding objects begin to fall.

Try to stay along walls without windows. When shaking, the glass is the first to crack and you can get seriously injured. As soon as you get out of the building, move to a safe distance. You should not drive a car; due to the electronics, the car may simply become blocked, and so will you.

If you live in an earthquake-prone area, you should prepare a bag or backpack with the essentials for the first time. You can also put documents and some money there. It's convenient in critical situation You can immediately grab it and run out of the dangerous room.

12 points on the Richter scale: adventure project “On the Edge” and learn a lot of new things! See you soon!

Text - agent Q.

In contact with

Tectonic processes in the earth's crust almost daily cause underground vibrations in some part globe. The most powerful earthquakes are usually associated with strong seismic displacements of the seafloor, causing tsunamis. Earthquakes associated with volcanic eruptions also cause serious consequences. Humanity is unable to prevent strong earthquakes. People have only learned to determine their onset and duration with greater probability, and to build more earthquake-resistant buildings and structures to reduce the amount of damage and human casualties.

Five most destructive earthquakes

Of the huge number of destructive earthquakes known modern science and history suffered terrible damage:

• 1976 Tangshan earthquake
• Ashgabat 1948
• what happened in the Indian Ocean at the end of 2004
• earthquake in Haiti in early 2010
• Sendai earthquake in Japan

The Soviet Union had barely begun to recover from the war when, in October 1948, the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, was struck by a terrible disaster. A magnitude nine earthquake, covering an area of ​​more than a thousand square kilometers, tore the entire city and nearby villages to pieces. Residential buildings were built by poor residents of the city mainly from adobe and were completely destroyed. New ones were demolished in whole or in part government agencies, since during construction experience and calculations were not taken into account to ensure a sufficient level of seismic resistance of buildings.

The number of human victims has not yet been determined, but according to known historical data it exceeded one hundred thousand people. Frightened residents at night mistook the earthquake for the start of a nuclear war and were completely at a loss. All communications and electricity supplies were instantly disabled. Only a day later, doctors, rescuers, and law enforcement officials began to arrive from Moscow and other cities to restore Ashgabat, rescue the wounded, and restore order.

In July 1976, the worst natural disaster of the twentieth century occurred. In the Chinese city of Tangshan, a powerful shock from a depth of twenty-two kilometers destroyed almost all the buildings in the city and over half a million residents in a few seconds.

The aftershock sixteen hours later led to further destruction and numerous casualties. Destruction also hit neighboring Tianjin and reached the outskirts of Beijing, located more than a hundred kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake. In total, more than five million houses were destroyed. Chinese communist authorities at the time carefully concealed the scale of the incident. These days, his picture is recreated in the heartbreaking Chinese feature film "Tangshan Earthquake", released in 2010.

Before the new year 2005, at a depth of twenty kilometers in the Indian Ocean near the island of Sumatra, a powerful underwater earthquake with a length of more than one thousand kilometers occurred, causing a tsunami of crazy destructive power and engulfing several Asian countries at once. Shifts of the seabed at the epicenter of the earthquake reached a height of 10 meters and caused huge destructive waves on the Indian Ocean coast.

The speed of the waves at the epicenter of the tremors exceeded seven hundred kilometers per hour, gradually weakening as the coast approached. A quarter of an hour later, the ocean waves completely swept away the coastal settlements on Simeulue and Sumatra; it took them a little more than an hour to destroy the coast of Thailand.

Two hours after the earthquake began, suffering and horror overtook the inhabitants of Sri Lanka and India, and then the tsunami reached the shores of Africa and swept across the entire world's oceans. As a result of this disaster, more than two hundred thousand inhabitants died.

More than one hundred thousand buildings were destroyed in Indonesia alone. In Sri Lanka, an eight-meter wave instantly destroyed a passenger train carrying 1,700 passengers. Residents of Somalia, the Maldives, and Malaysia were also severely affected.

Earthquake in Haiti in early 2010

The international community organized and provided humanitarian and financial assistance to the affected Haitians for several years, restored communications and infrastructure. Doctors from all over the world, including Russia, arrived in Haiti and successfully treated the wounded and sick residents.

At a depth of 32 kilometers in the Pacific Ocean, seventy kilometers from the Japanese island of Honshu, another global catastrophe began in March 2011. Intense tremors lasted several days, a three-meter tsunami destroyed several northern Japanese islands. In some coastal places, waves reached seven meters in height.

Despite the good preparedness of the Japanese for various natural disasters, 28 thousand people died and 15 thousand buildings were destroyed. The scale of the disaster was significantly increased by the presence of four nuclear power plants and threatened to develop into a radiation doomsday. Most of the power units were automatically shut down. The civilian population was evacuated throughout all coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean.

Scientific progress and modern technical means allow scientists all over the world to monitor possible zones and locations of new earthquakes, and promptly warn people about the need to quickly leave dangerous nearby areas.

Millions of years ago, powerful earthquakes occurred every day on our home planet - the formation of the familiar appearance of the Earth was underway. Today we can say that seismic activity practically does not bother humanity.

However, sometimes violent activity in the bowels of the planet makes itself felt, and tremors lead to the destruction of buildings and the death of people. In today's selection we bring to your attention 10 most destructive earthquakes in modern history.

The force of the tremors reached 7.7 points. The earthquake in Gilan province led to the death of 40 thousand people, more than 6 thousand were injured. Significant destruction occurred in 9 cities and about 700 small villages.

9. Peru, May 31, 1970

The worst thing in the history of the country disaster killed 67 thousand Peruvians. The 7.5-magnitude tremor lasted about 45 seconds. As a result, landslides and floods occurred over a wide area, which led to truly devastating consequences.

8. China, May 12, 2008

A powerful earthquake in Sichuan province had a magnitude of 7.8 and led to the death of 69 thousand people. About 18 thousand are still considered missing, and more than 370 thousand were injured.

7. Pakistan, October 8, 2005

The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 killed 84 thousand people. The epicenter of the disaster was located in the Kashmir region. As a result of the earthquake, a gap 100 km long was formed on the surface of the Earth.

6. Türkiye, December 27, 1939

The strength of the shocks during this devastating earthquake reached 8 points. Strong tremors continued for about a minute, and then followed by 7 so-called “aftershocks” - weaker echoes of the shaking. As a result of the disaster, 100 thousand people died.

5. Turkmen SSR, October 6, 1948

The force of the tremors at the epicenter of the powerful earthquake reached 10 points on the Richter scale. Ashgabat was almost completely destroyed, and, according to various estimates, from 100 to 165 thousand people became victims of the disaster. Every year on October 6, Turkmenistan celebrates the Day of Remembrance for Earthquake Victims.

4. Japan, September 1, 1923

The Great Kanto Earthquake, as the Japanese call it, almost completely destroyed Tokyo and Yokohama. The force of the tremors reached 8.3 points, as a result of which 174 thousand people died. Damage from the earthquake was estimated at $4.5 billion, which at that time was equal to two of the country's annual budgets.

3. Indonesia, December 26, 2004

A 9.3 magnitude undersea earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis that killed 230,000 people. As a result of the natural disaster, Asian countries, Indonesia and the east coast of Africa were affected.

2. China, July 28, 1976

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.2 killed almost 230 thousand people in the vicinity of the Chinese city of Tangshan. Many international experts believe that official statistics greatly underestimated the death toll, which could be as high as 800 thousand.

1. Haiti, January 12, 2010

Power the most destructive earthquake in the last 100 years was only 7 points, but the number of human casualties exceeded 232 thousand. Several million Haitians were left homeless, and the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, was almost completely destroyed. As a result, people were forced to survive for many months in conditions of devastation and unsanitary conditions, which led to the outbreak of a number of serious infections, including cholera.

The magnitude of the earthquake that took place in Japan was 8.8. It happened on March 11 and will never be forgotten, because in the entire history of the country, the earthquake was the strongest and largest. Speaking about the world, earthquakes happen quite often, however, fortunately, the consequences after them, so to speak, are not very damaging. But global disasters still happen.

There is an earthquake that people will remember for a long time. It is considered the largest in the last 100 years. The earthquake occurred in Haiti, it was officially recorded and documented. The date January 12, 2010 turned out to be deplorable for the Haitian population. It happened in the evening at 17-00. There was a shock with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale, this madness lasted for 40 seconds, and then there were smaller shocks, but up to 5. There were 15 such shocks, and the total was 30.

The power of such an earthquake was incredible, there are not enough words to describe it. But what are the words when this natural disaster claimed the lives of 232 thousand people (data vary around this mark). Millions of residents were left homeless, and the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, was completely in ruins.

There is an opinion that such terrible consequences could have been avoided if the country's authorities had foreseen in advance the possibility of such earthquakes. Some publications wrote that after the disaster, many residents were left without food, water and shelter. Help was provided slowly, there was simply not enough of it. People stood in line for a long time to get food, with no end in sight. Naturally, such unsanitary conditions caused a surge in diseases, among which was cholera, which claimed the lives of hundreds of people.

A less powerful earthquake, which was placed in second place, was the earthquake of July 28, 1976 in the city of Tangshan (China). The strength of the earthquake was estimated at 8.2 points, as a result, 222 thousand civilians died, but, to be specific, there is no specificity in these numbers. Data is approximate. Many international organizations subsequently kept a death toll following the Tangshan earthquake. Some say that the death toll numbered up to 800 thousand people, and the tremors were 7.8 magnitude. There is no exact data, why they are being hidden and who is behind it is also unknown to anyone.

Already in 2004, people also had to endure an earthquake. It was recognized as one of the most destructive and one of the deadliest disasters on the planet. The earthquake affected Asia, reached the Indian Ocean, and passed from Indonesia all the way to eastern Africa. Its strength was 9.2 points on the scale, caused enormous costs and took the lives of 230 thousand people.

In such cases, statistics are always kept according to which the Eastern and South-Eastern lands of Asia are considered to be the lands most susceptible to earthquakes. For example, in the province of Sichuan (China) on May 12, 2008, there was an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8, during which 69 thousand people died, 18 thousand were missing, and approximately 370 thousand people were injured. This earthquake was ranked seventh among the largest.

In Iran, in the city of Bam on December 26, 2003, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 occurred. 35 thousand people died. This disaster was ranked 10th among all others.

Russia also felt the tragic consequences of the earthquakes. On March 27, 1995, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9 occurred in Sakhalin. 2,000 people died.

The night from October 5 to 6, 1948 in Turkmenestan turned out to be tragic for many, and for some it was the last. The strength of the earthquake at the epicenter was 9 points, and the magnitude was 7.3. There were two most intense impacts, lasting 5-8 seconds. The strength of the first is 8 points, the second is 9 points. And in the morning there was a third shock of 7-8 points. Over the course of 4 days, the earthquake gradually subsided. Almost 90-98% of all buildings in Ashgabat were destroyed. Approximately 50-66% of the population died (up to 100 thousand people).

Many argue that not 100, but 150 thousand people were carried away by the earthquake to the next world. The Soviet media was in no hurry to announce exact numbers, and it wasn’t going to. No haste was noticed in their action. They only said that this disaster claimed the lives of many people. But the consequences were still so great that even 4 military divisions arrived in Ashgabat to help the residents.

Once again China suffered from an earthquake. On December 16, 1920, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred in Gansu Province. Its magnitude was 8.6. It has similarities to the Great China Earthquake. Many villages were razed to the ground, and the death toll ranged from 180 to 240 thousand people. This number includes 20 thousand people who died from the cold that took possession of them, and people had nowhere to hide from it.