12 Introduction
Table 1.2-2 Some notable and destructive earthquakes. (Values in this table are compiled from various sources, and different estimates have been reported,
especially for older earthquakes.)
Location and date
Strength
Kourion, Cyprus
X
July 21, 365
MMI
Basel, Switzerland
XI
October 18, 1356
MMI
Shansi, China
8
January 23, 1556
M s (est.)
Port Royal, Jamaica
8
June 7, 1692
M s (est.)
Lisbon, Portugal
≥8
November 1, 1755
M s (est.)
New Madrid, MO
7–7.4
Dec. 1811 to Feb. 1812
M s (est.)
Charleston, SC
7.2
August 31, 1886
M s (est.)
Sanriku, Japan
8.5
June 15, 1896
M s (est.)
Assam, India
8.7
June 12, 1897
M s (est.)
San Francisco, CA
7.8
April 18, 1906
M s
Kansu, China
8.5
December 16, 1920
M s
Tokyo, Japan
8.2
September 1, 1923
M s
Aleutian Islands, Alaska
7.4
April 1, 1946
M s
Lituya Bay, Alaska
7.0
July 10, 1958
M s
Hebgen Lake, MT
7.5
August 17, 1959
M s
Chile
9.5
May 21, 1960
M w
Alaska
9.1
March 27, 1964
M w
Peru
7.8
May 31, 1970
M s
San Fernando Valley, CA 6.6
February 9, 1971
M s
Haicheng, China
7.4
February 4, 1975
M s
Kalapana, Hawaii
7.1
November 29, 1975
M s
Tangshan, China
7.6
July 27, 1976
M s
Mexico City, Mexico
7.9
September 19, 1985
M s
Spitak, Armenia
6.8
December 7, 1988
M s
Loma Prieta, CA
7.1
October 17, 1989
M s
Caspian Sea, Iran
7.7
June 20, 1990
M s
Luzon, Philippines
7.8
July 16, 1990
M s
Landers, CA
7.3
June 28, 1992
M w
Effects
Total destruction of this Greco-Roman city. Very large tsunami in the Mediterranean.
Eighty castles destroyed over a wide area. 300 killed. Toppled cooking hearths caused fires that burned for
many days.
Collapse of cave dwellings carved into bluffs of soft glacial loess. 830,000 reported killed (worst ever). Near the
1920 Kansu earthquake (see below).
Widespread liquefaction caused one-third of Port Royal to spread and sink 4 m beneath the ocean surface.
2500 killed.
Large tsunamis seen all around the Atlantic. Felt over 1,600,000 km 2 . Algiers destroyed. 70,000 killed. Largest
documented earthquake in Europe (though several Italian quakes have killed >150,000 in past 500 years).
Three large quakes (Dec. 16, 1811, Jan. 23, 1812, Feb. 7, 1812). Vertical movements up to 7 m. Widespread
liquefaction. Changed course of Mississippi River. Felt over 5,000,000 km
2 .
No previous seismicity observed in this area between 1680 and 1886. Felt over 5,000,000 km
2
. 14,000 chimneys
damaged or destroyed. 90% of buildings damaged/destroyed. 60 killed.
Tsunamis 35 m high washed away 10,000 houses and killed 26,000 along the Sanriku coast of Honshu. A similar
Sanriku quake on March 2, 1933, killed 3000 with a 25 m high tsunami.
One of the largest quakes ever felt. 1500 killed. Extremely violent ground shaking. Other Himalayan events on
April 4, 1905 (20,000 killed), January 15, 1934 (10,000 killed), and August 15, 1950 (Ms = 8.6, 1526 killed).
About 4 m of slip on a 450 km-long fault. 28,000 buildings destroyed, largely by fires that burned for 3 days.
2500–3000 killed by fires (worst in USA).
180,000 killed, largely by downslope flow of liquefied soil over more than 1.5 km.
Occurred in Sagami Bay, 80 km south of Tokyo. 134 separate fires merged to become a giant firestorm. 12 m
tsunami hit shores of Sagami Bay. 143,000 killed.
Large tsunami destroyed a power station and caused $25 million in damage in Hilo, Hawaii, where it rose to 7 m
in height.
Massive landslides that slid into a local bay created a 60 m-high wave that washed up mountain sides as far as
540 m.
Extensive landslides, including one that dammed a river and created a lake. Reactivated 160 Yellowstone
geysers. Vertical displacement up to 6.5 m. 28 killed.
Largest quake ever recorded. Fault area: 800 by 200 km. Slip: 21 m. Triggered eruption of Puyehue volcano.
Massive landslides in Andes. Giant tsunami. 2000–3000 killed.
2 nd largest quake ever recorded. Fault area: 500 by 300 km. Slip: 7 m. Large tsunamis, and widespread
liquefaction. 200,000 km
2 of crustal surface deformed. 131 killed.
Quake offshore caused large landslides. 30,000 killed, largely by 100,000,000 m
3 of rock and ice flowing down
Andes mountain sides.
Felt over more than 200,000 mi
2 . 65 killed. 1000 injured. More than $500 million in direct losses.
Successful prediction said to have led to an evacuation on the morning of the quake that possibly saved
100,000s of lives. 300–1200 killed.
South flank of Kiluea volcano slid seaward. 14.6 m-high tsunami on Hawaiian shores. Largest Hawaiian
earthquake since a 1868 quake that caused 22 m-high tsunamis and killed 148.
Of a city of 1 million, >250,000 killed and 50,000 injured. Exact numbers speculative: fatalities may have
exceeded the 1556 earthquake. In contrast to the 1975 Haicheng quake, this had no precursory behaviors.
Strong shaking lasted for 3 minutes due to sedimentary lake-fill oscillations. 10,000 killed. 30,000 injured.
$3 billion in damage.
Surface faulting showed 1.5 m of slip along a 10 km fault. 25,000 killed. 19,000 injured. 500,000 homeless.
$6.2 billion in damages.
Slip along San Andreas segment south of San Francisco. 63 killed, most from the collapse of an elevated freeway
in Oakland. About $6 billion in damages. Disrupted 5th game of World Series.
100,000 structures damaged or destroyed. 40,000 killed. 60,000 injured. 500,000 left homeless. Over
700 villages destroyed, and another 300 damaged.
Major rupture of Digdig fault, causing many landslides and major surface faulting. Extensive soil liquefaction.
1621 killed. 3000 injured.
Up to 6 m of horizontal displacement and 2 m of vertical displacement along a 70 km fault segment.
1 killed. 400 injured.
Table 1.2-2 Some notable and destructive earthquakes. (Values in this table are compiled from various sources, and different estimates have been reported,
especially for older earthquakes.)
Location and date
Strength
Kourion, Cyprus
X
July 21, 365
MMI
Basel, Switzerland
XI
October 18, 1356
MMI
Shansi, China
8
January 23, 1556
M s (est.)
Port Royal, Jamaica
8
June 7, 1692
M s (est.)
Lisbon, Portugal
≥8
November 1, 1755
M s (est.)
New Madrid, MO
7–7.4
Dec. 1811 to Feb. 1812
M s (est.)
Charleston, SC
7.2
August 31, 1886
M s (est.)
Sanriku, Japan
8.5
June 15, 1896
M s (est.)
Assam, India
8.7
June 12, 1897
M s (est.)
San Francisco, CA
7.8
April 18, 1906
M s
Kansu, China
8.5
December 16, 1920
M s
Tokyo, Japan
8.2
September 1, 1923
M s
Aleutian Islands, Alaska
7.4
April 1, 1946
M s
Lituya Bay, Alaska
7.0
July 10, 1958
M s
Hebgen Lake, MT
7.5
August 17, 1959
M s
Chile
9.5
May 21, 1960
M w
Alaska
9.1
March 27, 1964
M w
Peru
7.8
May 31, 1970
M s
San Fernando Valley, CA 6.6
February 9, 1971
M s
Haicheng, China
7.4
February 4, 1975
M s
Kalapana, Hawaii
7.1
November 29, 1975
M s
Tangshan, China
7.6
July 27, 1976
M s
Mexico City, Mexico
7.9
September 19, 1985
M s
Spitak, Armenia
6.8
December 7, 1988
M s
Loma Prieta, CA
7.1
October 17, 1989
M s
Caspian Sea, Iran
7.7
June 20, 1990
M s
Luzon, Philippines
7.8
July 16, 1990
M s
Landers, CA
7.3
June 28, 1992
M w
Effects
Total destruction of this Greco-Roman city. Very large tsunami in the Mediterranean.
Eighty castles destroyed over a wide area. 300 killed. Toppled cooking hearths caused fires that burned for
many days.
Collapse of cave dwellings carved into bluffs of soft glacial loess. 830,000 reported killed (worst ever). Near the
1920 Kansu earthquake (see below).
Widespread liquefaction caused one-third of Port Royal to spread and sink 4 m beneath the ocean surface.
2500 killed.
Large tsunamis seen all around the Atlantic. Felt over 1,600,000 km 2 . Algiers destroyed. 70,000 killed. Largest
documented earthquake in Europe (though several Italian quakes have killed >150,000 in past 500 years).
Three large quakes (Dec. 16, 1811, Jan. 23, 1812, Feb. 7, 1812). Vertical movements up to 7 m. Widespread
liquefaction. Changed course of Mississippi River. Felt over 5,000,000 km
2 .
No previous seismicity observed in this area between 1680 and 1886. Felt over 5,000,000 km
2
. 14,000 chimneys
damaged or destroyed. 90% of buildings damaged/destroyed. 60 killed.
Tsunamis 35 m high washed away 10,000 houses and killed 26,000 along the Sanriku coast of Honshu. A similar
Sanriku quake on March 2, 1933, killed 3000 with a 25 m high tsunami.
One of the largest quakes ever felt. 1500 killed. Extremely violent ground shaking. Other Himalayan events on
April 4, 1905 (20,000 killed), January 15, 1934 (10,000 killed), and August 15, 1950 (Ms = 8.6, 1526 killed).
About 4 m of slip on a 450 km-long fault. 28,000 buildings destroyed, largely by fires that burned for 3 days.
2500–3000 killed by fires (worst in USA).
180,000 killed, largely by downslope flow of liquefied soil over more than 1.5 km.
Occurred in Sagami Bay, 80 km south of Tokyo. 134 separate fires merged to become a giant firestorm. 12 m
tsunami hit shores of Sagami Bay. 143,000 killed.
Large tsunami destroyed a power station and caused $25 million in damage in Hilo, Hawaii, where it rose to 7 m
in height.
Massive landslides that slid into a local bay created a 60 m-high wave that washed up mountain sides as far as
540 m.
Extensive landslides, including one that dammed a river and created a lake. Reactivated 160 Yellowstone
geysers. Vertical displacement up to 6.5 m. 28 killed.
Largest quake ever recorded. Fault area: 800 by 200 km. Slip: 21 m. Triggered eruption of Puyehue volcano.
Massive landslides in Andes. Giant tsunami. 2000–3000 killed.
2 nd largest quake ever recorded. Fault area: 500 by 300 km. Slip: 7 m. Large tsunamis, and widespread
liquefaction. 200,000 km
2 of crustal surface deformed. 131 killed.
Quake offshore caused large landslides. 30,000 killed, largely by 100,000,000 m
3 of rock and ice flowing down
Andes mountain sides.
Felt over more than 200,000 mi
2 . 65 killed. 1000 injured. More than $500 million in direct losses.
Successful prediction said to have led to an evacuation on the morning of the quake that possibly saved
100,000s of lives. 300–1200 killed.
South flank of Kiluea volcano slid seaward. 14.6 m-high tsunami on Hawaiian shores. Largest Hawaiian
earthquake since a 1868 quake that caused 22 m-high tsunamis and killed 148.
Of a city of 1 million, >250,000 killed and 50,000 injured. Exact numbers speculative: fatalities may have
exceeded the 1556 earthquake. In contrast to the 1975 Haicheng quake, this had no precursory behaviors.
Strong shaking lasted for 3 minutes due to sedimentary lake-fill oscillations. 10,000 killed. 30,000 injured.
$3 billion in damage.
Surface faulting showed 1.5 m of slip along a 10 km fault. 25,000 killed. 19,000 injured. 500,000 homeless.
$6.2 billion in damages.
Slip along San Andreas segment south of San Francisco. 63 killed, most from the collapse of an elevated freeway
in Oakland. About $6 billion in damages. Disrupted 5th game of World Series.
100,000 structures damaged or destroyed. 40,000 killed. 60,000 injured. 500,000 left homeless. Over
700 villages destroyed, and another 300 damaged.
Major rupture of Digdig fault, causing many landslides and major surface faulting. Extensive soil liquefaction.
1621 killed. 3000 injured.
Up to 6 m of horizontal displacement and 2 m of vertical displacement along a 70 km fault segment.
1 killed. 400 injured.