Earthquakes are a nightmare for the people on Earth because they have a great influence on the Earth’s surface, and occasionally earthquakes occur beneath the ocean, causing gigantic waves widely known as ‘Tsunamis,’ which devastate coastlines. Earthquake consequences commonly include shaking and ground rupture, landslides and avalanches, fires, soil liquefaction, tsunamis, floods, and human impacts, to name a few. On 23 January 1556, one of the deadliest earthquakes in history struck Shaanxi Province in China, killing around 830,000 people. The Shaanxi earthquake is thought to be the worst earthquake in history.
Earthquakes in the Indian Ocean (in 2004) and Haiti (in 2010) are the major quakes of the decade. Earthquakes cause the most casualties, although massive earthquakes are lethal owing to their closeness to densely inhabited regions (Urban Areas). Earthquakes are infrequent but severe natural disasters that cause significant loss of life in urban areas. Earthquakes frequently cause flooding and tsunamis, which may destroy islands and coasts. We have divided the largest earthquakes into two categories based on magnitude and mortality.
The Following list of the Largest earthquakes in the World by Magnitude.
| Rank | Name of Earthquake | Date | Magnitude | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1960 Valdivia earthquake | 22-May-1960 | 9.5 | Valdivia, Chile |
| 2 | 1964 Alaska earthquake | 27-Mar-1964 | 9.2 | Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA |
| 3 | 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake | 26-Dec-2004 | 9.1–9.3 | Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia |
| 4 | 1952 Kamchatka earthquakes | 4-Nov-1952 | 9.0 | Kamchatka, Russia |
| 5 | 2011 Tōhoku earthquake | 11-Mar-2011 | 9 | Pacific Ocean, Tohoku region, Japan |
| 6 | 1615 Arica earthquake | September 16, 1615 | 8.8 (est.) | Arica, Chile, Spain |
| 7 | 1833 Sumatra earthquake | November 25, 1833 | 8.8–9.2 (est.) | Sumatra, Indonesia |
| 8 | 1906 Ecuador-Colombia earthquake | 31-Jan-2006 | 8.8 | Ecuador, Colombia |
| 9 | 2010 Chile earthquake | 27-Feb-2010 | 8.8 | Maule, Chile |
| 10 | 1700 Cascadia earthquake | January 26, 1700 | 8.7–9.2 (est.) | Pacific Ocean, USA and Canada |
| 11 | 1730 Valparaiso earthquake | July 8, 1730 | 8.7 (est.) | Valparaiso, Chile |
| 12 | 1755 Lisbon earthquake | November 1, 1755 | 8.7 (est.) | Atlantic Ocean, Lisbon, Portugal |
| 13 | 1965 Rat Islands earthquake | 4-Feb-1965 | 8.7 | Rat Islands, Alaska, USA |
| 14 | 869 Sanriku earthquake | July 9, 869 | 8.6 (est.) | Pacific Ocean, Tohoku region, Japan |
| 15 | 1498 Meiō Nankaidō earthquake | September 20, 1498 | 8.6 (est.) | Pacific Ocean, Nankai Trough, Japan |