The 7. More than 20,000 people have died in the 8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria on February 6, making it the second deadliest quake in the region. In 1939, at Erzincan, Turkiye witnessed a quake of this magnitude for the last time.
Serious quakes in Bhuj (2001), Kashmir (2005), and Nepal (2015) have also caused significant damage in recent times, but based on cold statistics alone, none of these quakes rank among the worst of this century.
Chile experienced the most severe earthquake since the turn of the 20th century in 1960. The magnitude was 9. 5 – this indicates that it was 50 times as strong as the 7. Turkiye had a quake of 8 magnitude, which was 63 times stronger than the 7. quake of 7 magnitude in Bhuj. Numerous high-intensity earthquakes have been observed in the 21st century. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which had a magnitude of 9 and occurred off the Sumatra, Indonesia, coast. 1 – killed nearly 2 people (20 times stronger than the Turkiye earthquake). After causing 50-meter-high tsunami waves, it killed 35,000 people in 14 countries. It was the deadliest natural disaster of the 21st century and the third-strongest earthquake ever recorded.
The increase in the number of sensors and advancements in earthquake detection technology are probably to blame for the increase in earthquake frequency over the past century, according to data. Despite the fact that this century has seen a decrease in the frequency of high-intensity earthquakes, the number of deaths and property damage caused by quakes has significantly increased as a result of the expanding population and construction densities.
For instance, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti resulted in nearly 3 lakh deaths and a magnitude of 7 (one-sixth that of the Turkiye quake) that was significantly lower than what was recorded. The island nation, which has a population of just over 1 crore, was ill-equipped to deal with a powerful earthquake. As a result, many people died during the inadequately resourced rescue efforts. Earthquakes have the potential to have long-term effects in addition to the immediate destruction.
The magnitude-9 in 2011. One earthquake in Japan was caused by a tsunami that was responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. It came from the Pacific Ocean. Three reactors broke down, and radioactive water was dumped into the ocean. According to a World Bank study conducted at the time, it was the costliest disaster in history, with a total economic cost of $235 billion. According to a report from 2020, it reduced the GDP of Japan by nearly 0. 5 points in percentage.
*According to the USGS earthquake intensity calculator.