2
December
  Advertisement
Home  /  Timelines  /  Earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
Timeline of Events
563
12.24.563
The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes.
1293
5.26.1293
An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 30,000.
1531
1.26.1531
Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake--thousands die.
1556
1.23.1556
The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
1667
4.6.1667
An earthquake devastates Dubrovnik, then an independent city-state.
11.25.1667
A deadly earthquake rocks Shemakha in the Caucasus, killing 80,000 people.
1755
11.1.1755
Lisbon earthquake: In Portugal, Lisbon is destroyed by a massive earthquake and tsunami, killing between sixty thousand and ninety thousand people.
1759
11.25.1759
An earthquake hits the Mediterranean destroying Beirut and Damascus and killing 30,000-40,000.
1763
6.28.1763
A massive earthquake occurs on the same day in Komárom in Hungary, in Komárno in Slovakia and in Zsámbék in Hungary.
1812
2.7.1812
The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri.
1835
2.20.1835
Concepción, Chile is destroyed by an earthquake.
1857
3.21.1857
An earthquake in Tokyo, Japan kills over 100,000.
1861
3.20.1861
An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
1887
2.23.1887
The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
1907
1.14.1907
An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000.
1915
1.13.1915
An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800.
1929
11.18.1929
1929 Grand Banks earthquake: Off the south coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean, a Richter magnitude 7.2 submarine earthquake, centered on Grand Banks, breaks 12 submarine transatlantic telegraph cables and triggers a tsunami that destroys many south coast communities in the Burin Peninsula.
1932
12.25.1932
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills
1939
12.27.1939
Erzincan, Turkey was hit by an earthquake.
1946
4.1.1946
Aleutian Island earthquake: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands creates a tsunami that strikes the Hawaiian Islands killing 159, mostly in Hilo.
1949
8.5.1949
In Ecuador an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.
1953
3.18.1953
An earthquake hits western Turkey, killing 250.
1960
5.22.1960
An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
1963
7.26.1963
An earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia (now in the Republic of Macedonia) leaves 1,100 dead.
1967
7.29.1967
During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.
1974
1.5.1974
An earthquake in Lima, Peru, kills six people, and damages hundreds of houses.
1976
2.4.1976
In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
5.6.1976
An earthquake strikes Friuli, causing 989 deaths and the destruction of entire villages.
11.8.1976
A series of earthquakes spreads panic in the city of Thessaloniki, which is evacuated.
1979
4.15.1979
A disastrous earthquake (of M 7.1) occurs on Montenegro coast.
9.12.1979
Indonesia is hit with an earthquake that measures 8.1 on the Richter scale.
1986
10.10.1986
An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people.
1988
12.7.1988
Spitak Earthquake: In Armenia an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale kills nearly 25,000, injures 15,000 and leaves 400,000 homeless.
1989
12.28.1989
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people.
1990
7.13.1990
An earthquake with its epicentre in Afghanistan results in the greatest number of fatalities in a mountaineering accident in High Asian mountains when an avalanche kills 43 climbers in Camp I on Pik Lenina (Lenin Peak).
1992
3.13.1992
An earthquake registering 6.8 on the Richter scale kills over 500 in Erzincan, eastern Turkey.
1994
1.17.1994
1994 Northridge Earthquake: A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Northridge, California.
1995
1.17.1995
The Great Hanshin earthquake: A magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits near Kobe, Japan, causing extensive property damage and killing 6,434 people.
5.28.1995
The Russian town of Neftegorsk is hit by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that kills at least 2,000 people, half of the total population.
1998
2.4.1998
An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000.