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TUR | Feb 6, 2023

Major deadly earthquakes in the past two decades

/ Our Today

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Rescuers work to recover the body of a victim from a collapsed building following an earthquake in rebel-held Idlib, Syria February 6, 2023. (Photo: White Helmets/via REUTERS)

(Reuters) – Some of the world’s most deadly earthquakes in the past two decades are listed below, after a 7.8 magnitude quake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria today (February 6) and killed hundreds of people.

People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Sertac Kayar)
  • Aug. 24, 2016 – ITALY – A 6.2 magnitude quake struck a cluster of mountain communities east of Rome in central Italy, killing about 300 people.
  • April 16, 2016 – ECUADOR – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hammered Ecuador, killing more than 650 people on the country’s Pacific coast.
  • Oct 26, 2015 – AFGHANISTAN – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the Afghan northeast, killing nearly 400 people in the country as well as in northern Pakistan.
  • Apr 25, 2015 – NEPAL – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake ravaged impoverished Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and disrupting the lives of more than eight million.
  • Aug 3, 2014 – CHINA – A magnitude 6.3 earthquake devastated southwestern China, killing at least 600 people in a remote area of Yunnan province.
  • Sept 24, 2013 – PAKISTAN – Twin earthquakes, measuring 7.7 and 6.8 magnitude, rattled southwestern Balochistan province, killing at least 825 people.
  • Aug 11, 2012 – IRAN – Two strong quakes, measuring 6.4 magnitude and 6.3 respectively, killed at least 300 people near the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran.
  • Oct 23, 2011 – TURKEY – A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook southeast Turkey, killing more than 600 people.
  • March 11, 2011 – JAPAN – A 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Japan’s northeast, killing about 15,690 people and injuring 5,700. The earthquake also triggered the world’s biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
  • Feb 22, 2011 – NEW ZEALAND – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, killing at least 180 people.
  • Feb 27, 2010 – CHILE – An 8.8 magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami in Chile killed more than 500 people, wrecking hundreds of thousands of homes and mangling highways and bridges.
  • Jan 13, 2010 – HAITI – A 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince and killed about 316,000 people. The United Nations estimated 80,000 buildings in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas were destroyed.
  • May 12, 2008 – CHINA – A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan province, killing about 87,600 people.
  • Dec 26, 2004 – ASIA – A 9.15 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that barrelled into Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and many other countries in the region, devastating villages and tourist islands and leaving almost 230,000 dead or missing.
  • Oct 8, 2005 – PAKISTAN – A 7.6 magnitude quake northeast of Islamabad killed at least 73,000 people. The quake also rocked Indian Kashmir, killing 1,244 there.
  • Dec. 26, 2003 – IRAN – a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit the southeastern Kerman province and flattened the city of Bam, killing 31,000 people.
People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Sertac Kayar)

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