Timeline of Earthquakes
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3600BC The Supe people, a maritime
farming community along the coast of Peru, disappeared about this time.
In 2009 researchers found their disappearance coincided with
earthquakes and landslides followed by massive flooding.
(SFC, 1/20/09, p.A13)
373BC The Greek city of Helike was
destroyed by an earthquake. Historians recorded that rats, snakes and
weasels had abandoned Helice just days before the quake struck.
(NH, 10/02, p.78)(WSJ, 5/16/08, p.A6)
132 Zhang Heng introduced an
earthquake weathercock, a device that could inform the Chinese court of
a distant earthquake.
(NG, Feb, 04, p.28)
363 A devastating earthquake
leveled half the city of Petra, the principal city of Nabatea.
(AP, 6/21/03)
365 Jul 21, An earthquake leveled
the Egyptian Port of Alexandria and some 50,000 died.
(MC, 7/21/02)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.18)
526 May 29, Antioch, Turkey, was
struck by an earthquake and about 250,000 died. [see May 20]
(AM, 11/00, p.69)(SC, 5/29/02)
1201 Jul 5, An earthquake in Syria
and upper Egypt killed some 1.1 million people.
(www.geohaz.org/member/news/signif.htm)
1365 Basel, Switzerland, was
wrecked by an earthquake.
(AP, 8/4/07)
1382 John Wycliffe’s heresy
hearing was interrupted by an earthquake that toppled the tower of
Canterbury Cathedral.
(WSJ, 12/31/04, p.W6)
1456 Dec 5, Earthquake struck
Naples and 35,000 died.
(MC, 12/5/01)
1531 Jan 26, Lisbon was hit by an
earthquake and some about 30,000 died.
(MC, 1/26/02)
1626 Jul 30, An earthquake hit
Naples and some 10,000 died.
(MC, 7/30/02)
1663 Jan 6, There was a great
earthquake in New England.
(MC, 1/6/02)
1700 Jan 26, A magnitude 9.0
earthquake shook Northern California, Oregon, Washington and British
Colombia. It triggered tsunami that damages villages in Japan.
(AP, 2/27/10)
1700 Jan 27, A tsunami hit Honshu
Island, Japan. It was later estimated that wave was triggered by a 9.0
magnitude earthquake in California.
(CW, Spring ‘99, p.32)
1703 Dec 30, Tokyo was hit by
Earthquake and some 37,000 people died.
(MC, 12/30/01)
1730 Jul 8, A magnitude 8.7
earthquake in Valparasio, Chile, killed at least 3,000 people.
(AP, 2/27/10)
1755 Nov 1, An 8.7 earthquake hit
Lisbon, Portugal, and killed some 70,000 people. Heavy damage resulted
from ensuing fires and tsunami flooding in Morocco and nearly a quarter
of a million people were killed.
(SFEC, 4/26/98, p.T7)(HN,
11/1/98)(http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmosde.html)
1797 Feb 4, Earthquake in Quito,
Ecuador, some killed 40,000 people. Riobamba was destroyed.
(www.newadvent.org/cathen/13061c.htm)(http://tinyurl.com/btbdc)
1805 Jul 26, Naples and Calabria
were struck by an earthquake and some 26,000 died.
(MC, 7/26/02)
1811 Dec 15-16, A 7.3 earthquake
struck the central US on the Mississippi River. It was centered at New
Madrid, Missouri. Aftershocks continued into 1812. In 1976 James Penick
Jr. authored "The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812." [see Jan 23,
Feb 7, 1812]
(HC, 6/7/98)(ON, 10/99, p.5,6)(SFC, 2/24/01,
p.A10)(NH, 3/1/04, p.66)
1812 Jan 23, A 2nd major
earthquake shook New Madrid, Missouri.
(NH, 3/1/04, p.67)
1812 Feb 7, A 3rd major earthquake
shook New Madrid, Missouri, and for a few hours reversed the course of
the Mississippi River. [see Dec 15-16, 1811, Jan 23, 1912]
(NH, 3/1/04, p.67)
1812 Mar 26, Earthquake destroyed
90% of Caracas; about 20,000 died.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1835 Feb 20, Concepcion, Chile,
was destroyed by earthquake and some 5,000 died.
(MC, 2/20/02)
1837 Jan 22, An earthquake in
southern Syria killed thousands.
(MC, 1/22/02)
1850 Sep 22, An earthquake in
Sichuan, China, killed some 300,000 people.
(www.geohaz.org/member/news/signif.htm)
1854 Dec 23, The 8.4 Ansei Tokai
Quake struck Japan. The epicenter ranged from Suruga Bay to the deep
ocean, but destroyed houses as far away as in Edo. The accompanying
tsunami caused damage along the entire coast from the Boso Peninsula in
modern-day Chiba prefecture to Tosa province (modern-day Kochi
prefecture).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansei_Great_Earthquakes)
1854 Dec 24, The 8.4 Ansei Nankai
Quake struck Japan. Over 10,000 people from the Tokai region down to
Kyushu were killed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansei_Great_Earthquakes)
1855 Nov 11, The 6.9 Ansei Edo
earthquake hit near Tokyo, Japan. Some 8,000 casualties resulted with
about 14,000 structures destroyed.
(www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/j/gjs4/2008_Shaken%20and%20Rectified.pdf)(Econ,
7/4/09, p.39)
1857 Mar 21, An earthquake hit
Tokyo and about 107,000 died.
(MC, 3/21/02)
1857 The Fort Tejon, Ca.,
earthquake, estimated at magnitude 8, ruptured ground for 225 miles
from Parkfield to Tejon Pass. It killed 2 people and destroyed the
Teyon Army post.
(SFC, 5/21/01, p.A4)(SFC, 12/10/04, p.A4)
1862 An earthquake in Russia’s
Lake Baikal region put 200 square km of lakeshore under water.
(Econ, 7/19/03, p.41)
1868 Apr 3, An earthquake
estimated at magnitude 7.9 hit the Big Island of Hawaii. 46 people were
killed in the resulting tsunami at Keauhou and 31 died in a landslide
at Kapapala.
(http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1868_04_03.php)
1868 Aug 13, A magnitude 9.0 quake
in Arica, Peru (later Chile), generated catastrophic tsunamis; more
than 25,000 people were killed in South America.
(AP, 2/27/10)
1868 Oct 21, An major earthquake,
later estimated at magnitude 7, took place on the Hayward Fault in
northern California. It destroyed the top of the San Mateo County
Courthouse. At this time only 265,000 people lived in the Bay Area.
(SMMB)(SFC, 6/13/96, p.C3)(SFC, 10/18/07, p.A15)
1872 Mar 26, A 7.8 earthquake
shook the Owens Valley, California.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1883 Aug 29, Seismic sea waves,
created by Krakatoa eruption, created a rise in the English Channel 32
hrs after explosion.
(MC, 8/29/01)
1885 Managua, Nicaragua, was
leveled by an earthquake.
(SSFC, 4/10/05, p.F4)
1886 Aug 31, An earthquake rocked
Charleston, S.C., killing 60 people, according to the US Geological
Survey.
(AP, 8/31/07)
1887 A severe earthquake hit the
Ligurian village of Perinaldo, Italy.
(SFCM, 3/17/02, p.29)
1897 Jun 12, Possibly the most
severe quake in history struck Assam, India. Shock waves were felt over
an area size of Europe.
(MC, 6/12/02)
1900 Apr 26, Charles Richter
(1985), seismologist, was born in Hamilton, Ohio. He developed the
Richter Scale for measuring the amplitude of earthquakes.
(AP,
4/26/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Francis_Richter)
1906 Jan 31, A magnitude 8.8 quake
off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia. It generated a tsunami that
killed at least 500 people.
(AP, 2/27/10)
1906 Apr 18, 5:12 a.m. the San
Francisco 8.2 earthquake occurred. Seismologists in 1977 reduced
the magnitude to 7.9. 28,000 buildings were destroyed and 498 blocks
leveled. One quarter of the city burned. About 700 people died. The
massive earthquake was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles and as far
inland as Nevada. It caused severe damage and loss of life in the San
Francisco Bay area, and a three-day fire spawned by the shaking reduced
4.7 square miles of the city to blackened ruins. Military officials
estimated $400 million of damage and a total of 700-800 killed. Modern
research estimates that closer to 3,000 of San Francisco's 400,000
inhabitants lost their lives. Sweeney Observatory in Goldengate Park
was destroyed. Some 30,000 people were left homeless and lived in GG
Park for up to a year and a half. The quake was centered in Olema. Old
City Hall at Fulton and Larkin was destroyed. In 2001 Dan Kurzman
authored “Disaster: The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of
1906.”
(SFC, 4/4/96, p.A-106)(SFC, 4/8/96, p.A-1)(SFC,
4/14/96, p.Z1, p.3)(AP, 4/18/97)(SFC, 7/29/97, p.A5,7)(SFEC, 3/8/98,
p.W31)(SFC, 1/1/99, p.A13) (HNPD, 4/18/99)(SFC, 4/22/01, BR p.3)(SFC,
2/15/02, p.G8)
1906 Aug 16, An magnitude 8.6
earthquake in Valparaiso, Chile, left an estimated 20,000 people dead.
(SFEC, 6/13/99, Z1 p.5)(AP, 6/22/02)
1908 Dec 28, Some 70,000-100,000
people died in the Messina earthquake in Sicily. The government hired a
number of steamships, including the Florida, to ship survivors to
America.
(WUD, 1994, p.899)(WSJ, 2/8/99,
p.A21)(http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmosde.html)
1909 Jan 21-22, An earthquake in
Morocco's northern region, near Tetouan, killed up to 100.
(AP, 2/25/04)
1915 Jan 13, An earthquake in
Avezzano, Italy, killed 29,800.
(MC, 1/13/02)
1920 Dec 16, In China an 8.6
earthquake in the northwestern provinces of Gansu and Shanxi caused
massive landslides and the deaths of 100,000- 200,000 people.
(SFC, 1/800,
p.A8)(www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/eq/faq/world.htm)
1923 Sep 1, The Japanese cities of
Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by the Great Kanto earthquake that
claimed 99,000-143,000 lives. The 7.9-8.3 quake off Tokyo's shoreline
killed some 99,300 people.
(AP,
9/1/97)(www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/eq/faq/world.htm)
1927 Mar 7, Earthquake measuring 8
on Richter scale struck Tango, Japan.
(MC, 3/7/02)
1927 May 27, An earthquake in
China’s Qinghai (Xining) Province left some 200,000 dead.
(www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/eq/faq/world.htm)
1929 Jan 24, An earthquake in
northern Morocco did material damage in Fez.
(AP, 2/25/04)
1930 Jul 23, Earthquake struck
Ariano, Italy, and some 1,500 were killed.
(MC, 7/23/02)
1930 Nov 25, An earthquake in
Shizouka, Japan, killed 187.
(HN, 11/25/98)
1931
Apr 1, An Earthquake devastated Managua,
Nicaragua, killing 2,000.
(OTD)
1932 Dec 26, Some 70,000 were
killed in a massive earthquake in Kansu, China.
(HN,
12/26/98)(www.disaster-management.net/earthqu1.htm)
1933 Mar 2, Most powerful
earthquake in 180 years hit Japan.
(SC, 3/2/02)
1933 Mar 10, In Long Beach a
6.3-6.4 earthquake killed 115 people.
(SFEC, 10/17/99, p.A3)(WSJ, 6/21/00, p.A1)
1934 Jan 15, An 8.4 earthquake in
India and Nepal killed 10,700. It damaged the Mahabuddha Temple in
Patan, Nepal, one of but 3 in the world.
(WSJ, 1/22/98, p.A17)(MC, 1/15/02)
1935 May 31, In Quetta, India
(later Pakistan), a magnitude 7.5 earthquake killed some 50,000 people.
The earthquake flattened Quetta, killing an estimated 26,000 people in
the city alone, more than half its population.
(AP, 12/27/03)(AP, 10/15/05)
1939 Jan 24, Some 28-30,000 were
killed by magnitude 8.3 earthquake in Chillan, Chile.
(MC, 1/24/02)(AP, 6/22/02)
1939 Dec 26-27, In Turkey a series
of vicious earthquakes in Erzincan province, magnitude 7.9, took some
33,000 lives in Turkey.
(HN, 12/27/98)(MC, 12/27/01)(SFEC, 8/22/99,
p.A17)(AP, 6/22/02)
1946 Apr 1, Two large earthquakes
shook the Scotch Cap Lighthouse on Unimak Island, Alaska. A resulting
tsunami washed away the lighthouse. The Aleutian Islands earthquake
also triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami that killed 165 people and caused
over $26 million in damages. Tidal waves struck the Hawaiian islands,
resulting in more than 170 deaths. 91 people were killed in Hilo.
(AP, 4/1/98)(Ind, 6/8/02, 5A)(SSFC, 8/25/02,
p.C14)(SFC, 4/1/09, p.D8)
1948 Oct 6, A 7.3 earthquake hit
Ashgebat, Turkeminstan, and killed an estimated 110,000 people.
Stalinist media at the time claimed only 35,000 deaths.
(http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmosde.html)
1950 Aug 15, A magnitude 8.6
earthquake in Assam, Tibet, killed at least 780 people.
(AP, 2/27/10)
1952 Jul 21, A 7.7 earthquake
destroyed the Kern County town of Tehachapi near Bakersfield, Ca. and
killed 14 people.
(SFEC, 11/14/99, p.B10)(SFC,12/9/97, p.A9)
1952 Nov 4, A magnitude 9.0 quake
in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths, despite setting off
30-foot (9.1-meter) waves in Hawaii.
(AP, 2/27/10)
1954 Sep 10, A 12 second
earthquake killed 1,460 in Orleansville, Algeria.
(MC, 9/10/01)
1956 Jun 9, Heavy earthquake
struck Afghanistan and 400 were killed.
(MC, 6/9/02)
1957 Mar 9, An 8.1 earthquake
shook the Andreanof Islands, Alaska.
(MC, 3/9/02)
1959 Mar 3, A SF Bay Area
earthquake measured 5.5 on the Richter scale in Berkeley.
(SSFC, 3/1/09, DB p.50)
1959 Aug 17, A 7.1 quake struck at
Yellowstone National Park.
(SC, 8/17/02)
1959 Aug 18, A magnitude 7.3 quake
near Hebgen Lake, Montana, just west of Yellowstone National Park
triggered a landslide that killed 28 people.
(http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1959_08_18.php)
1960 Feb 29, An 5.7 earthquake in
Morocco's southwest Atlantic coast killed as many as 12,000. The town
of Agadir destroyed.
(AP, 2/25/04)
1960 May 22, Chile experienced a
9.5 earthquake. A slow earthquake was detected just before the big one.
It caused tsunamis in every coastal town between the 36th and 44th
parallels with a death toll of some 1000 people.
(PCh, 1992, p.977)(SFC, 9/6.96, p.A11)
1960 May 23, A tidal wave, due to
a 9.5 earthquake off Chile, hit Hilo, Hawaii. It killed 61 people,
wiped out the beaches and destroyed 537 buildings. It went on to hit
Japan.
(PCh, 1992, p.977)(SFEC, 4/2/00, p.T4)(SSFC,
8/25/02, p.C14)
1962 Sep 1, Some 10,000 died in an
earthquake in western Iran.
(SC, 9/1/02)
1963 Jul 26, Skopje, Yugoslavia,
was destroyed by earthquake and over 1,000 were killed.
(MC, 7/26/02)
1964 Mar 27-1964 Mar 28, Good
Friday, Valdez, Alaska, in Prince William Sound was rocked by an 8.6
[8.4] earthquake, the largest ever recorded in North America. In 1977
seismologists pegged the quake at 9.2. It lasted 4 minutes and was
followed by tsunamis and fires and 131 people were killed. Survivors
moved 4 miles west to solid bedrock and rebuilt the town. Much of
Crescent City, Ca., was demolished by a resulting tsunami.
(AP, 3/27/97)(SFEC, 2/8/98, p.T5)(SFEC, 4/5/98, Z1
p.8)(SFEC, 10/17/99, p.A3)(SFC, 11/26/99, p.C21)(WSJ, 9/13/01,
p.B11)(SFC, 2/15/02, p.G8)
1965 Apr 29, Seattle experienced
an earthquake. 7 people were killed and damage was estimated at $12.5
million.
(http://neic.usgs.gov)
1965 An earthquake on Alonissos,
Greece, leveled Alonissos Town.
(SSFC, 3/14/04, p.D6)
1966 Aug 19, An earthquake struck
Varko, Turkey, and some 2,400 were killed.
(MC, 8/19/02)
1968 Aug 31, In northeast Iran
some 7-12 thousand people died in the 7.8 Dasht-e Bayaz earthquake,
which also destroyed 60,000 buildings.
(WUD, 1994,
p.1687)(www.bssaonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/59/5/1751)
1969 Feb 28, An earthquake in
Morocco's Atlantic coast killed about a dozen people and injured 200.
(AP, 2/25/04)
1970 Jan 5, In China a 7.7
earthquake in Yunnan province killed over 15,000 people and was covered
up by authorities amid the chaos of the cultural revolution.
(SFC, 1/800, p.A8)
1970 Mar 28, 1,086 died when 7.4
quake destroyed 254 villages in Gediz, Turkey.
(MC, 3/28/02)
1970 May 31, A 7.7 slab earthquake
and debris flow in Peru killed 67,000, injured 50,000 and destroyed
186,000 buildings.
(AP,
5/31/97)(http://landslides.usgs.gov/html_files/landslides/slides/slide5.htm)
1971 Feb 9, In San Fernando, Ca.,
a 6.5 earthquake killed 65 people.
(SFEC, 10/17/99, p.A3)
1971 May 12, A 6.3 earthquakes in
western Turkey killed about 100 people.
(http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/events/1971_05_turkey.php)
1971 May 22, A 6.9 earthquake in
eastern Turkey killed about a thousand people.
(http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/events/1971_05_turkey.php)
1972 Apr 10, A 6.9 earthquake in
the Iranian province of Fars killed over 5,000 people.
(http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/63/6-1/2071)
1972 Dec 23, A 6.25 earthquake
struck Managua, Nicaragua, and over 12,000 were killed. Pres.
Somoza was later believed to have pocketed millions of dollars in
foreign aid. The diversion of funds undermined his government and
helped pave the way for the 1979 revolution.
(SFC, 10/15/96, p.A12)(SFEC, 11/8/98,
p.A26)(http://tinyurl.com/58jfg)
1973 Aug 28, More than 600 people
died as an earthquake shook central Mexico.
(AP, 8/28/08)
1974 Dec 28, The 6.0 Patan
earthquake in Pakistan killed some 5,300 people.
(http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/events/1974_12_28.php)
1975 Sep 6, A 6.8 quake along the
Anatolian Fault kills over 2,000 in Lice, Turkey.
(MC, 9/6/01)
1976 Feb 4, A 7-5-7.9 earthquake
hit Guatemala and Honduras. Some 23,000 Guatemalans, mostly Mayan
Indians, were killed. It destroyed 58,000 houses in the capital and 300
villages.
(NG, 6/1988, p.785,797)(SFEM, 6/13/99, p.8)(AP,
2/4/01)(AP, 6/22/02)
1976 Jul 28, In China a 7.8-8.2
earthquake in the northern city of Tangshan killed at least 242,000
people, according to an official estimate.
(AP, 7/28/97)(SFC, 1/8/00,
p.A8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangshan_earthquake)
1977 Mar 4, A 7.4 earthquake in
Romania killed about 1,570 people and was felt across southern and
eastern Europe.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Bucharest_Earthquake)(AP,
3/4/98)(SFC, 4/28/99, p.A15)
1978 Jan 14, In Japan the 7.0
Izu-Oshima earthquake damaged nine railway and four road tunnels in a
limited area. 25 people were killed.
(SFC, 9/6.96, p.A11)(http://tinyurl.com/2uz9wg)
1978 Sep 16, In northeast Iran a
magnitude 7.7 earthquake killed some 25,000 people.
(WUD, 1994, p.1691)(AP, 6/22/02)
1979 The US Geological Survey
installed an array of seismic monitors in the Geysers region of
northern California. Since 1960 small earthquakes in the region had
increased due to geothermal development.
(SSFC, 6/8/03, p.A1)
1979 Scientists developed the
moment magnitude scale. It succeeded the Richter scale for measuring
earthquakes.
(SSFC, 1/21/07, p.M3)
1979 In Montenegro an earthquake
destroyed much of the Old Town beach resort of Budva.
(SSFC, 10/20/02, p.C6)
1980 Jan 23, A rolling earthquake
hit northern California and measured 5.5 in Contra Costa. It destroyed
25,000 gallons of wine at the Livermore winery of Wente Brothers. A
leak of radioactive tritium was reported from the weapons lab at
Livermore.
(SFC, 1/21/05, p.F2)
1980 Jan 24, A 2nd earthquake,
centered 8-miles north of Livermore, hit the Bay Area and measured 5.6.
(SFC, 1/21/05, p.F2)
1980 Oct 10, Some 4,500 died when
a pair of earthquakes struck NW Algeria. In 1983 the “El-Asnam Algeria
Earthquake of October 10, 1980 a Reconnaissance and Engineering Report”
was published.
(http://tinyurl.com/2ud4vh)
1980 Nov 23, Some 2,600 people
were killed by a series of earthquakes that devastated southern Italy.
(WSJ, 6/17/96, p.A12)(AP, 11/23/07)
1981 Jun 11, Earthquake in
southeast Iran killed at least 1,500 people.
(SFC, 3/21/98, p.A9)(AP, 6/11/03)
1982 Jan 9, A 5.9 earthquake hit
New England & Canada; the 1st since 1855.
(http://tinyurl.com/32vvon)
1983 Mar 31, Earthquake in
Colombia killed some 5,000 people. A disastrous earthquake hit Popayan.
(SFEC, 11/10/96, p.T10)(MC, 3/31/02)
1983 May 2, A 6.4 earthquake
injured 94 people in Coalinga, Ca., and caused an estimated $10 million
in damages.
(http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1983_05_02.php)
1983 Dec 30, A 7.2 earthquake
killed 26 people in Afghanistan (14) and Pakistan (12).
(SFC, 3/5/02, p.A10)
1984 Apr 26, An earthquake hit the
SF Bay Area. It measured 6.2 on the Richter scale and was centered in
Morgan Hill.
(SSFC, 4/19/09, DB p.54)
1985 Sep 19, The Mexico City area
was struck by the first of two devastating quakes (8.1) that officially
claimed 9,500 lives. Some 40,000 people were injured.
(HFA, '96, p.38)(SFC, 12/31/96, p.C9)(AP,
9/19/97)(SSFC, 4/16/06, p.F4)
1985 Sep 30, Charles Richter
(b.1900), seismologist, died. He developed the Richter Scale for
measuring the amplitude of earthquakes. In 2007 Susan Elizabeth Hough
authored “Richter’s Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Francis_Richter)(SSFC, 1/21/07,
p.M3)
1987 Oct 1, Eight people were
killed when an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale and an
aftershock measuring 5.3 struck the Los Angeles area. In 1999
researchers reported that data revealed a new active fault system,
christened the Punete Hills fault, under Los Angeles that probably
caused the Whittier Narrows earthquake.
(AP, 10/1/97)(SFC, 3/5/99, p.A7)
1988 Aug 21, More than 1,000
people were killed in an earthquake on the Nepal-India border.
(AP, 8/21/98)
1988 Nov 25, An earthquake
centered in eastern Canada and measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale was
felt widely across Canada and in the northeastern United States.
(HN, 11/25/98)
1988 Dec 7, A magnitude 6.9-8.0
earthquake devastated Spitak in northern Armenia; an estimated 25,000
people died with some $14 billion in losses.
(AP, 12/7/97)(AP,
6/22/02)(www.who.int/archives/inf-pr-1997/en/pr97-08.html)
1989 Oct 17, The 7.1 Loma Prieta
earthquake [Watsonville] hit the Bay Area minutes before the start of a
World Series game at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. 67 people died
and 3,000 were injured. It caused $7 billion worth of damage. The
Spreckel’s Temple of Music in Golden Gate Park was damaged and later
restored. 28,000 structures were damaged and several freeways ruined.
42 people died on the Cypress Freeway. At the train station in SF Dr.
Margaret McChesney commandeered a tour bus to take frightened
passengers home and navigated the driver safely through barricades of
cars and gangs of marauding youths on 3rd St. In 1999 new measuring
methods changed the magnitude to 6.9.
(SFC, 4/15/96,A-6)(SFC, 10/17/96, A15)(SFC, 7/23/97,
p.A13)(AP, 10/17/97)(AR,9/12/98)(HN, 10/17/98)(SFC, 10/7/99, p.A21)
1989 Dec 25, In Canada a 6.3
earthquake, the Ungava event, struck northern Quebec and was later
attributed to retreating ice sheets from 10,000 years earlier.
(WSJ, 6/9/06, p.A11)
1990 May 30, A 6.3 earthquake in
northern Peru killed 137 people. [see May 29]
(SSFC, 6/24/01, p.A16)
1990 May 29, Northern Peru was
struck by an earthquake that claimed as many as 200 lives.
(www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/OCHA-64C3R8?OpenDocument)
1990 Jun 21, An estimated 50,000
Iranians were killed in a magnitude 7.3 to 7.7 earthquake. The
earthquake killed some 35,000 people in Gilan and neighboring Zanjan
province.
(SFC, 3/1/97, p.C1)(AP, 6/21/00)(AP, 6/22/02)
1990 Jul 16, A 7.7 earthquake in
Philippines killed some 5,000 people.
(www.drj.com/drworld/content/w1_116.htm)
1991 Feb 1, Afghanistan and
Pakistan were hit by an earthquake and 1,200 died.
(MC, 2/1/02)
1991 Apr 22, Sixty people were
killed when a strong earthquake shook Costa Rica and neighboring
Panama, causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage.
(AP, 4/22/01)
1991 Jun 28, Two people were
killed when the Sierra Madre earthquake, magnitude 5.8, shook Southern
California.
(AP,
6/28/01)(www.data.scec.org/chrono_index/sierrama.html)
1992 Mar 13, Some 498 died in an
earthquake at Erzincan, Turkey.
(www.uwm.edu/Dept/Geosciences/qketour/qkexampl/qk990817.html)
1992 Apr 13, An earthquake rocked
Germany and the Netherlands.
(http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/sig_1992.html)
1992 Apr 22, A 6.0 earthquake in
California.
(MC, 4/22/02)
1992 Apr 25, An earthquake
measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale shook northern California.
(AP, 4/25/97)
1992 May 25, A 7.0 earthquake on
the Caribbean Plate hit Cuba.
(WSJ, 1/21/97,
p.A18)(http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/sig_1992.html)
1992 Jun 28, The 7.3 Landers
earthquake hit Southern California. One person was killed and 402
injured.
(AP,
6/28/97)(www.data.scec.org/chrono_index/landersq.html)
1992 Oct 12, A 5.8 earthquake hit
Cairo and at least 510 people died.
(AP,
10/12/97)(http://io.ingrm.it/amminist/annali/elenean433.htm)
1993 Jan 15, A 7.5 earthquake
struck northern Japan and 2 people died.
(MC, 1/15/02)
1993 Jul 12, 196 people were
killed when an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.8 struck northern
Japan.
(AP, 7/12/98)
1993 Sep 30, An estimated 10,000
(28,000) people were killed when an earthquake measuring a magnitude of
6.0-6.4 struck Latur in southern India. Its epicenter was about 350
miles southwest of Jabalpur.
(SFC, 5/22/97, p.C4)(AP, 9/30/98)(SFC, 3/30/99,
p.F2)(AP, 6/22/02)
1994 Jan 17, A 6.7 magnitude
earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 61 people and
causing $20 billion worth of damage. Northridge quake hit the Los
Angeles area. It killed 72 people. Insurance losses totaled $17.8
billion.
(SFC, 4/28/97, p.A3)(SFC, 5/3/97, p.B1)(AP,
1/17/98)(Econ, 9/17/05, p.73)
1994 Feb 16, At least 217 people
were killed when a powerful earthquake shook Indonesia's Sumatra
island.
(AP, 2/16/00)
1994 Jun 5, At least 264
Indonesian villagers in East Java were killed by an earthquake.
(AP, 6/5/99)
1994 Jun 6, A 6.0 earthquake and
avalanche destroyed Toez, Colombia. Some 1000 people were killed. The
earthquake hit the southern state of Cauca.
(SFC, 2/2/99, p.A9)(MC, 6/6/02)
1994 Jun 9, An earthquake of 8.2
magnitude hit Bolivia.
(HFA, '96, p.32)
1995 Jan 17, A magnitude 7.2
earthquake hit the port city of Kobe, Japan. It measured 7.2 and early
reports listed 1600 dead. Death toll increased to 6,000 (5,372).
(WSJ, 1/18/95, p.A1)(AP, 1/17/98)(MC, 1/17/02)(AP,
6/22/02)
1995 Feb 8, A 6.4 earthquake at
Trujillo, Colombia, killed over 46 people.
(MC, 2/8/02)
1995 May 28, An earthquake with a
magnitude of seven-point-five devastated the Russian town of
Neftegorsk, killing at least 2,000 people.
(AP, 5/28/00)
1996 Jan 1, A 7.0 earthquake
struck offshore near the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi. Seismologist in
Japan and Hong Kong measured it at 7.7. A tidal wave killed eight after
the quake.
(WSJ, 1/2/96, p. A-1)(WSJ, 1/3/96, p.A-1)
1996 Feb 3, A 7.0 earthquake hit
Lijiang region of Yunnan province in China. Some 231 people were killed
and 14,000 injured.
(WSJ, 2/5/96, p.A-1)(NH, 4/97, p.44)
1996 Feb 17, A powerful 7.5
earthquake and subsequent tidal waves hit eastern Indonesia in the
region of Irian Jaya and killed at least 62 people. Tidal waves killed
more than 100 people in Indonesia.
(WSJ, 2/20/96, p.A-1)(AP, 2/17/01)
1996 Mar 29, An earthquake in
central Ecuador killed 29 people.
(SFC, 4/6/96, p.A-13)
1996 May 3, A
6.4 earthquake struck Inner Mongolia in northern China. At least 14
people were killed and 266 injured.
(SFC, 5/4/96, p.A-8)
1997 Jan 11, An earthquake of
magnitude 7.3 shook Mexico City, the western and central areas, and the
southern part of Mexico, but no deaths were reported.
(SFEC, 1/12/97, p.A2)(AP, 1/11/98)
1997 Feb 4, In northeastern Iran 2
earthquakes with aftershocks killed at least 72 people. Some 43
villages were damaged. Another quake followed the next day.
(SFC, 2/5/97, p.A9)(SFC, 2/6/97, p.A1)
1997 Feb 28, A 6.1 earthquake at
Ardebil in northwest Iran struck at 4:27 p.m. local time. The quake
damaged 83 villages and killed at least 500 people.
(SFC, 3/1/97, p.C1)(SFEC, 3/2/97, p.A15)
1997 Mar 1, Rescue teams fought
snow, high winds and wild dogs as they tried to bring help to an
earthquake-devastated region in northwest Iran, where the death toll
was estimated at 3,000.
(AP, 3/1/98)
1997 Apr 22, A 6.5 earthquake hit
Tobago. There were no reported injuries.
(SFC, 4/23/97, p.A4)
1997 May 10, A 7.1 earthquake hit
in northeastern Iraq centered on the town of Qaen. More than 2,400
people were reported killed. The death toll was reduced to 1,560 with
60,000 left homeless.
(SFEC, 5/11/97, p.A1)(WSJ, 5/12/97, p.A1)(SFC,
5/14/97, p.A10)
1997 May 21, In India an
earthquake killed at least 27. Its epicenter was near Jabalpur City,
about 400 miles southeast of New Delhi.
(SFC, 5/22/97, p.C4)
1997 Jul 9, In Venezuela a 6.7
earthquake hit the northeast coastal region and killed at least 59
people including 27 students trapped inside a collapsed school building.
(SFC, 7/10/97, p.E3)(SFC, 7/11/97, p.A11)
1997 Aug 16, Scientists reported
that an underground seismic event occurred in Russia. Inquiries were
being made about nuclear testing. Russian scientists claimed a
magnitude-2 earthquake near the Novaya Zemlya test range triggered the
event.
(SFC, 8/29/97, p.A18)(WSJ, 9/3/97, p.A1)
1997 Communities around Clear Lake
began diverting millions of gallons of treated waste water to the
Geysers region and pumped underground to replenish steamfields. The
water was soon suspected of causing increased regional earthquakes.
(SSFC, 6/8/03, p.A23)
1998 Jan 10, In China a 6.2
earthquake hit Zhangbei County in northern Hebei province and 50 people
were reported killed and over 11,440 injured. The quake reportedly left
cracks in the Great Wall.
(SFEC, 1/11/98, p.A15)(SFC, 1/12/98, p.A12)(SFC,
1/22/98, p.E3)
1998 Feb 4, In Afghanistan a 5.9
earthquake hit the province of Takhar in the northeast at the junction
of the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges where hills collapsed into
each other making a huge crater. The number dead was later reported to
be 2,300 with 8,000 left homeless.
(SFC, 2/7/98, p.A10)(SFC, 6/1/98, p.A1)(AP,
2/4/99)(SFC, 3/27/02, p.A14)
1998 Mar 14, In Iran a 6.4
earthquake hit in the southeast and at least 5 people were killed and
thousands left homeless.
(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.A22)(AP, 3/14/99)
1998 Apr 10, In Iran an earthquake
in the northeast killed 12 people and left 1,500 homeless in the
Khorasan province.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, p.A16)
1998 May 22, In Bolivia
earthquakes destroyed hundreds of homes in central remote mountain
towns and at least 60 people were killed.
(SFC, 5/23/98, p.A12)
1998 May 30, An estimated 6.9
earthquake hit northern Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Shari Basurkh was
hit hardest and some estimates put the death toll up to 3,000. The
estimated deaths later reached 5,000.
(SFEC, 5/31/98, p.A2)(SFC, 6/1/98, p.A1)(AP, 6/22/02)
1998 Jun 27, In southern Turkey a
6.3 earthquake around Adana and Ceyhan killed at least 144 people and
injured about a 1,000.
(SFEC, 6/28/98, p.A21)(WSJ, 6/29/98, p.A1)(SFC,
7/4/98, p.A7)
1998 Jul 9, A 5.8 earthquake hit
the Azores Islands and killed 10 people and injured about a 100. Some
1000 were left homeless.
(SFC, 7/10/98, p.A18)
1998 Jul 17, In Papua New Guinea a
tidal wave followed a 7.0 earthquake at the Solomon Islands and killed
at 2,500-3,000 people. The villages of Malol, Arop, Otto, Warupu and
Sissano were turned into barren strips of sand.
(SFC, 7/18/98, p.A10)(SFEC, 7/20/98, p.A1)(SFC,
8/4/99, p.A10)
1998 Jul 17, A 6.2 earthquake in
Taiwan triggered falling rock that killed 4 people and injured 19.
(SFC, 7/18/98, p.A14)
1998 Aug 5, In Ecuador 2
earthquakes struck the coast at Bahia de Caraquez and killed 3 people.
(SFC, 8/6/93, p.A14)
1998 Sep 9, A 5.5 earthquake hit
Italy between the towns of Castelluccio Inferiore and Laino Borgo where
the regions of Calabria and Basilicata meet.
(SFC, 9/10/98, p.C2)
1998 Nov 13, In Iran a village was
leveled in Fars province and 5 people were killed after 5 strong
earthquakes hit the area.
(SFC, 11/21/98, p.A6)
1998 Nov 29, In Indonesia a 7.6
earthquake was centered near Taliabu Island in the Maluku Sea. At least
25 people were killed on Mangole Island and some 89 were injured.
(SFC, 11/30/98, p.B10)(SFC, 12/1/98, p.A11)
1998 Dec 12, In Afghanistan a 5.4
earthquake hit Kabul and killed at least 5 people.
(SFEC, 12/13/98, p.A36)
1999 Jan 25, In Colombia a 6.0
earthquake hit in western Valle del Cauca state and at least 273 people
were killed and 900 injured. The cities of Armenia, Pereira, and
Calarca were hardest hit. The death toll went up and it was predicted
that 2,000 died in Armenia alone.
(SFC, 1/26/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 1/26/99, p.A1)(SFC,
1/27/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 29, In India at least 51
people were killed following a 6.8 earthquake in the Kumaon Hills in
Uttar Pradesh. The quake struck just after midnight and the death toll
rose to at least 87. The toll was raised to 110 at Chamoli on the
Alaknanda River.
(SFC, 3/29/99, p.A8)(WSJ, 3/30/99, p.A1)(SFC,
3/30/99, p.F2)(SFC, 3/31/99, p.A10)
1999 May 7, A series of
earthquakes hit southern Iran and at least 26 people were killed in
Fars province.
(SFC, 5/8/99, p.C14)
1999 Aug 17, A 7.4 earthquake hit
western Turkey with many killed and thousands injured. Over 17,000 were
later reported killed. The quake was centered under the Sea of Armara
on the North Anatolian fault. It was later reported to have pushed
Turkey 4 feet closer to Europe.
(SFC, 8/17/99, p.A1)(SFC, 8/18/99, p.A1,13)(WSJ,
8/18/99, p.A1)(SFC, 8/20/99, p.A1)(SFEC, 8/29/99, p.A17)(AP, 8/17/03)
1999 Aug 20, In Turkey
officials reported that over 10,000 bodies had been recovered from the
quake and the injured list had risen to 34,000. Prime Minister Ecevit
ordered that the dead be buried as soon as found.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 21, In Turkey the death
toll from the Aug 17 earthquake reached 12,000. Governors in 3 of 9
stricken provinces called off searches for survivors. US President
Clinton urged Americans to contribute to the relief effort. The death
toll from the massive earthquake eventually reached 17,000.
(SFEC, 8/22/99, p.A1)(AP, 8/21/00)
1999 Aug 24, The death toll in
Turkey’s August 17 earthquake was raised to near 18,000.
(SFC, 8/25/99, p.A14)
1999 Aug 26, The Turkey quake
death toll was lowered to 13,040 with 26,630 injured. The parliament
passed a law to give amnesty to Kurdish rebels with no criminal record.
The death toll was later raised to over 17,000.
(SFC, 8/27/99, p.A14)(SFC, 10/15/99, p.A19)
1999 Sep 7, In Greece a 5.9
earthquake hit Athens and 64 people were killed, 650 injured and 50
missing. The death toll later reached 143.
(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 9/9/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 9/16/99,
p.A1)(AP, 9/7/00)
1999 Sep 20, In Taiwan a 7.6
earthquake killed an estimated 2,161 people and injured over 3,500.
2,600 people were believed to be buried alive. Aftershocks the next day
registered at 6.8 and 100,000 people were homeless.
(SFC, 9/21/99, p.A1)(SFC, 9/22/99, p.A1)(WSJ,
9/22/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 9/22/99, p.A1) (http://nisee.berkeley.edu/taiwan/)
1999 Sep 21, In Taiwan the
12-story Sungshan hotel collapsed and at least 73 people were killed as
numerous after shocks followed the previous day’s 7.6 earthquake.
Prosecutors later charged 5 people with negligence in the design and
construction of the building. [see Sep 20]
(SFC, 11/9/99, p.A14)(AP, 9/21/00)
1999 Oct 16, A 7.0 earthquake,
centered near Joshua Tree, Ca., struck in the Mohave Desert. An Amtrak
train was derailed, but there were no deaths.
(SFEC, 10/17/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/18/99, p.A1)
1999 Nov 12, In Turkey a 7.2 [7.1]
earthquake was centered at Duzce. At least 834 people were killed and
3000 injured. Damage from the last 2 quakes was later estimated at
$10-25 billion.
(SFC, 11/13/99, p.A1)(SFEC, 11/14/99, p.A1)(SFC,
11/15/99, p.A14)(WSJ, 11/17/99, p.A1)(SFC, 4/28/00, p.D6)(AP, 11/12/00)
1999 Dec 22, In Algeria a 5.8
earthquake struck near Oran and at least 20 people were killed and 75
injured.
(SFC, 12/23/99, p.C7)
2000 Jan 15, In China 5.9 and 6.5
earthquakes hit in Yunnan province and 4 people were killed.
(SFEC, 1/16/00, p.A25)
2000 May 4, In Indonesia a 6.5
earthquake was centered in the Maluku Sea off Pelang Island and at
least 17 people were killed.
(SFC, 5/5/00, p.A18)
2000 May 17, In Taiwan a wave of
earthquakes left 3 people dead in Taichung County of the central
mountain region.
(SFC, 5/18/00, p.A14)
2000 Jun 4, In Indonesia a 7.3
earthquake hit Sumatra and over 100 people were killed with relentless
aftershocks.
(SFC, 6/5/00, p.A8)(SFC, 6/6/00, p.A13)
2000 Jul 6, In Nicaragua a 5.9
earthquake was centered in Laguna de Apoyo. At least 4 children died.
(SFC, 7/7/00, p.D6)(SFC, 7/8/00, p.A12)
2000 Jul 7, In Nicaragua another
earthquake struck and at least 2 people were killed.
(SFC, 7/8/00, p.A12)
2000 Aug 21, In China an
earthquake in Wuding county, Yunnan province, left 177,000 people
homeless and 211 injured.
(SFC, 8/26/00, p.A9)
2000 Sep 3, In California 5.2
earthquake was centered in Napa and injured over 40 people.
(SFC, 9/4/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 5, In western Japan a 7.3
earthquake struck and at least 106 people were injured.
(SFC, 10/6/00, p.D6)(SFC, 10/7/00, p.A8)(SFEC,
10/8/00, p.A18)
2000 Nov 16, In Papua New Guinea a
tidal wave followed a magnitude 8.0 earthquake and left at least one
person dead and at some 5,000 people homeless.
(WSJ, 11/22/00, p.A1)(SFC, 11/25/00, p.D8)
2000 Nov 25, In Azerbaijan an
earthquake hit Baku and at least 3 people were killed. 20 people died
of heart attacks.
(SSFC, 11/26/00, p.D6)(WSJ, 11/27/00, p.A1)
2000 Dec 15, In Turkey an
earthquake killed 6 people including 5 men praying at the mosque of
Yasarlar village.
(SSFC, 12/17/00, p.11)
2001 Jan 13, In El Salvador a 7.6
earthquake hit near San Salvador. Some 1200 people were not accounted
for in the buried Las Colinas neighborhood. The “slab earthquake”
originated 24-36 miles below the surface. The earthquake death toll
later climbed to over 840. Damages were estimated at $1 billion.
(SSFC, 1/14/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 1/21/01, p.D1)(AP,
1/13/06)
2001 Jan 26, A 7.9 (7.7)
earthquake hit India and Pakistan as India prepared to celebrate
Republic Day. It was an intraplate earthquake along a thrust fault 300
miles south of the boundary between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian
Plates. Some 20,000-50,000 people were killed and over 14,000 injured
across Gujarat state. 10 people were reported killed in Pakistan. The
quake caused an underground river, either the Saraswati or Indus, to
reappear that had disappeared in a 19th century quake. [see Jan 31]
(SFC, 1/26/01, p.A16)(SFC, 1/27/01, p.A1)(WSJ,
1/29/01, p.A1)(SFC, 2/17/01, p.D8)(WSJ, 1/2/02, p.R12)
2001 Jan 31, The death count from
the 7.7 earthquake reached 12,000 and an additional 13,000 were
believed still buried. The final death count was set to 15,537 in June.
(SFC, 2/1/01, p.A9)(SFC, 6/14/01, p.C3)
2001 Feb 1, The India earthquake
death toll estimates rose to between 35-50 thousand with injuries to
over 60,000. the damages in Gujarat state were estimated at $4.5
billion.
(WSJ, 2/2/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 2/4/01, p.A14)
2001 Feb 13, In El Salvador a 6.6
earthquake killed at least 127 people. It was centered between San
Vicente and San Salvador. The death toll soon rose to 402 with 2432
injured. It struck one month to the day after another quake killed more
than 800 people.
(SFC, 2/14/01, p.A1)(SFC, 2/15/01, p.A12)(AP,
2/13/02)
2001 Mar 24, In Japan a 6.4
earthquake near Hiroshima killed 2 people and injured at least 160.
(SSFC, 3/25/01, p.C1)
2002 Feb 3, A 6.0-6.2 earthquake
hit Turkey and as least 45 people were killed. The epicenter was about
135 miles southwest of Ankara.
(SFC, 2/4/02, p.A3)(WSJ, 2/4/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 3, A 7.2 earthquake was
centered in northeast Afghanistan and at least 100 people were killed.
(SFC, 3/5/02, p.A10)
2002 Mar 5, In the Philippines a
6.8 earthquake struck about 10 miles under the sea some 147 miles
southwest of General Santos and 4 people were killed.
(SFC, 3/6/02, p.A8)
2002 Mar 25, In Afghanistan a
5.8-6.1 earthquake was centered 105 miles north of Kabul and early
reports of deaths reached to 1,800. The city of Nahrin was reported
destroyed. Deaths in Baghlan province were reduced to 600-800 with
100,000 left homeless.
(SFC, 3/26/02, p.A6)(SFC, 3/27/02, p.A1)(SFC,
3/29/02, p.A9)(SFC, 3/30/02, p.A10)(AP, 6/22/02)
2002 Mar 31, In Taiwan a 6.8-7.1
earthquake hit and 5 construction workers were killed in Taipei when 2
construction cranes fell from the 60th floor of a new building
projected to be the tallest in the city.
(SFC, 4/1/02, p.A7)(WSJ, 4/1/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 12, An earthquake hit
northern Afghanistan and at least 59 people were killed, mostly in
Doabi.
(SFC, 4/13/02, p.A10)(SFC, 4/20/02, p.A24)
2002 Apr 25, An earthquake in
Tbilisi, Georgia, killed at least 3 people.
(SFC, 4/26/02, p.A15)
2002 May 13, A 5.2 earthquake hit
the Bay Area centered near Gilroy.
(SFC, 5/14/02, p.A1)
2002 Jun 22, A powerful earthquake
in northern Iran killed at least 500 people and injured 1,500, razing
dozens of mountain villages whose mud-brick homes crumbled to dust.
(Reuters, 6/22/02)(Reuters, 6/23/02)(AP, 6/22/03)
2002 Sep 9, An earthquake struck
just off Papua New Guinea's north coast, killing 3 people and causing a
tidal wave that washed away at least 40 homes.
(AP, 9/9/02)
2002 Sep, In Sicily the strongest
earthquake in 20 years caused some $500 million in damage.
(SFC, 9/14/02, p.A20)
2002 Oct 31, A strong earthquake
rocked central and southern Italy, trapping about 50 children in a
school in San Giuliano di Puglia after the building's roof collapsed.
27 children and a teacher were killed.
(AP, 10/31/02)(AP, 11/1/07)
2002 Nov 2, In Indonesia a
powerful earthquake struck near Sumatra island and killed at least two
people, injured scores and left more than 5,000 people on a nearby
island homeless.
(Reuters, 11/3/02)
2002 Nov 3, A moderate earthquake
jolted northern Pakistan, killing seven people and injuring 30, many of
them critically.
(AP, 11/3/02)
2002 Nov 3, A 7.9 earthquake hit
Alaska 90 miles south of Fairbanks.
(SFC, 11/4/02, p.A2)
2002 Nov 21, In northern Pakistan
a 5.5 earthquake hit the Gilgit region and at least 25 people were
killed.
(SFC, 11/22/02, p.A18)
2003 Feb 24, A devastating
earthquake shook western China, killing at least 266 people, injuring
some 2,000 and flattening homes, schools and other buildings near the
Silk Road oasis of Kashgar. The death toll soon rose to at least 266
people, with another 2,000 injured.
(Reuters, 2/24/03)(AP, 2/25/03)(SFC, 2/26/03, A8)
2003 May 1, A 6.4 magnitude
earthquake rumbled through southeastern Turkey. 177 people were killed
and 390 injured including 80 students were trapped in the debris of
their school dormitory in Bingol.
(AP, 5/1/03)(SFC, 5/1/03, A16)(SFC, 5/2/03,
p.A3)(AP, 5/4/08)
2003 May 21, In Algeria a 6.7
earthquake struck near Algiers. More than 2,200 people were killed and
thousands injured. Thenia, 40 miles east of Algiers, was worst hit.
(SFC, 5/22/03, p.A1)(AP, 5/25/03)(SFC, 5/27/03,
p.A12)
2003 May 26, A 7.0 earthquake hit
Japan's main island of Honshu. At least 54 people were injured.
(SFC, 5/27/03, p.A3)
2003 Jul 21, In southwest China a
magnitude-6.2 earthquake toppled thousands of mud-brick houses in a
mountainous area, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 300
others.
(AP, 7/22/03)
2003 Jul 26, Across northern Japan
3 powerful earthquakes knocked out power grids, collapsed buildings and
set off mudslides. At least 268 people were hurt.
(AP, 7/26/03)
2003 Sep 25, In northern Japan an
8.3 earthquake, the world's most powerful in 2 1/2 years, injured at
least 589 people and knocked out power on Hokkaido.
(http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2003/eq_030925/)
2003 Oct 25, In northwestern China
powerful twin tremors, minutes apart, killed nine people and leveled
houses in Gansu province.
(AP, 10/26/03)
2003 Dec 1, A strong earthquake
rumbled through a swath of western China's mountainous Xinjiang region,
killing at least 11 people and collapsing hundreds of homes in Ili
Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture near the border with Kazakhstan.
(AP, 12/1/03)
2003 Dec 22, A 6.5 earthquake
jolted the central California coast. Marilyn Zafuto (55) and Jennifer
Myrick (20) were killed in Paso Robles when the 1892 Mastagni Building
and its 15-foor clock tower collapsed. Damages from the San Simeon
quake were estimated at some $100 million.
(AP, 12/23/03)(SFC, 12/23/03, p.A1)(SFC, 12/24/03,
p.A1)
2003 Dec 25, A strong earthquake
shook the border of Costa Rica and Panama, killing an infant and
leaving dozens of others with mainly minor injuries.
(AP, 12/26/03)
2003 Dec 26, A 6.6 earthquake
devastated the southeastern Iranian city of Bam, 630 miles southeast of
the capital Tehran. It leveled more than half the city's houses and its
historic mud-brick fortress. At least 26,000 people were killed and
over 10,000 injured. Iran appealed for international help and promised
to waive visas for foreign relief workers.
(AP, 12/27/03)(SFC, 12/30/03, p.A3)(AP, 1/2/04)(AP,
12/26/04)
2004 Feb 6, In Indonesia powerful
earthquakes hit Indonesia's remote Papua province, flattening houses
and leaving at least 26 people dead and hundreds injured.
(AP, 2/6/04)
2004 Feb 24, An earthquake shook
Burundi, killing three people and destroying at least two dozen homes.
(AP, 2/24/04)
2004 Feb 24, A 5.1 earthquake
struck northern Morocco near Al Hoceima, toppling houses and killing
629 people.
(AP, 2/25/04)(SFC, 2/25/04, p.A3)(AP, 3/5/04)
2004 May 28, An earthquake damaged
homes in northern Iran. The toll from a 6.2 earthquake reached 35 dead
with 250 people injured.
(AP, 5/28/04)(AP, 5/29/04)
2004 Aug 10, In southwest China a
5.6 earthquake killed four and injured nearly 600 in Yunnan province.
More than 125,000 people were left homeless and cracked walls in
reservoirs posed a threat to villages downstream.
(AP, 8/12/04)
2004 Sep 28, A 6.0 earthquake
shook central California, cracking pipes, breaking bottles of wine and
knocking pictures from walls. The quake was centered about seven miles
southeast of Parkfield, a town of 37 people known as California's
earthquake capital.
(AP, 9/28/04)
2004 Oct 23, Several earthquakes,
the largest measuring 6.8, hit northwestern Japan, toppling homes,
causing blackouts, cutting water and gas and derailing a bullet train.
40 people were killed and as many as 1,900 injured.
(SFC, 10/28/04, p.A12)(Econ, 10/30/04, p.50)(AP,
10/23/05)
2004 Nov 12, A strong earthquake
rocked parts of eastern Indonesia, killing six people, injuring 40 and
damaging hundreds of buildings.
(AP, 11/12/04)
2004 Nov 20, An early morning 6.2
earthquake jolted San Jose, Costa Rica, and killed 8 people. Leaders of
21 nations were gathered there for the Ibero-American Summit.
(AP, 11/20/04)
2004 Nov 29, A powerful earthquake
with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan's northern island of
Hokkaido, injuring at least 24 people.
(AP, 11/29/04)
2004 Dec 24, The world's biggest
earthquake in almost four years, measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale,
struck off the coast of Australia's southern island state of Tasmania,
but caused no damage or injury.
(AP, 12/24/04)
2004 Dec 26, The world's most
powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that
slammed into villages and seaside resorts across southern and southeast
Asia. The initial estimated death toll of 9,000 soon rose to some
230,000 people in 14 countries. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake was the
world's fifth-largest since 1900 and the largest since a 9.2 temblor
hit Prince William Sound Alaska in 1964. The epicenter was located 155
miles south-southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on
Sumatra, and six miles under the seabed of the Indian Ocean. In
Indonesia at least 166,320 people were killed.
Bangladesh reported 2 killed; India: at least 9,691 deaths: thousands
were missing and possibly dead in India's remote Andaman and Nicobar
Islands. Indonesia: At least 101,318 people were killed on Sumatra
island and small islands off its coast. Kenya reported 1 killed.
Malaysia: At least 68 people, including an unknown number of foreign
tourists, were dead. Myanmar: At least 90 people were killed. Sri
Lanka: At least 30,680 were killed in government and rebel controlled
areas. The Maldives, an archipelago of 1,190 low-lying coral islands
and a tiny population of 280,000, at least 82 people were killed and
missing. At least 42 islands were flattened in the low-lying atoll
nation. Somalia: At least 298 were killed. Tanzania: At least 10
killed. Thailand: The confirmed death toll for Thailand reached 5,322,
but many suspected Myanmar migrants were not counted.
(SFC, 12/28/04, p.A1)(AP, 12/30/04)(SSFC, 1/2/05,
p.A12)(AP, 1/7/05)(Econ, 1/22/05, p.41)(AP, 12/25/09)
2004 Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and
Donald Theodore Sanders authored “Earthquakes in Human History.
(WSJ, 12/31/04, p.W6)
2004 David Ulin authored “The Myth
of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction and the Fault Line Between
Reason and Faith.”
(SSFC, 7/25/04, p.M1)
2005 Feb 22, In central Iran’s
Kerman province a 6.4 earthquake flattened villages and collapsed
mud-brick homes, killing over 500 people and injuring nearly 1,000.
(AP, 2/23/05)(SFC, 2/24/05, p.A11)
2005 Mar 20, A magnitude 7.0
earthquake struck off the coast of southern Japan, killing one person
and injuring at least 381 others.
(AP, 3/20/05)
2005 Mar 28, An 8.7 earthquake
occurred in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, in what technically was
considered an aftershock to the Dec 26 quake. At least 330 people were
killed in collapsed buildings on Nias Island. No major tsunami
followed. The UN raised its toll to 624..
(AP, 3/29/05)(SFC, 3/29/05, p.A1)(AP, 3/31/05)
2005 Jun 14, A 7.9 earthquake
rattled cities in Bolivia and Peru and heavily damaged mountain
villages in northern Chile, killing at least 11 people including a
family of 6.
(WSJ, 6/14/05, p.A1)(AP, 6/15/05)
2005 Jun 14, The 7.0-magnitude
quake struck northern California about 90 miles southwest of the
coastal community of Crescent City, where a 1964 tsunami killed 11
people.
(AP, 6/15/05)
2005 Jul 24, A 7.2 earthquake hit
India's southern Andaman and Nicobar Islands and part of Indonesia. No
tsunami came, and no injuries or damage were reported.
(AP, 7/25/05)
2005 Jul 21, Prof. Bruce Bolt
(75), UC Berkeley seismologist, died. His books included “Earthquakes:
A Primer” and “Inside the Earth: Evidence from Earthquakes.”
(SFC, 7/26/05, p.B5)
2005 Aug 16, A 7.2 earthquake
shook northeastern Japan, triggering landslides, sending a shower of
ceiling debris into a crowded indoor swimming pool and shaking
skyscrapers as far away as Tokyo. At least 59 people were reportedly
injured.
(AP, 8/16/05)(WSJ, 8/17/05, p.A1)
2005 Oct 8, A 7.6-magnitude
earthquake hit Kashmir near the Pakistan-India border reaching to
Afghanistan. It reduced villages to rubble, triggered landslides and
flattened an apartment building, killing thousands of people in India
and Pakistan. Pakistani officials said the death toll ranged between
nearly 20,000 and 30,000. The newly reopened "Peace Bridge" linking the
Indian and Pakistani portions of disputed Kashmir nearly collapsed
during the earthquake. The death toll from the quake reached 73,000.
The UN estimated that 3 million people were left homeless by the
earthquake.
(AP, 10/9/05)(SSFC, 10/9/05, p.A1)(AP,
11/8/05)(Econ, 5/6/06, p.44)
2005 Nov 27, In southern Iran an
earthquake measuring at least magnitude-5.9 shook a sparsely populated
area, flattening seven villages and killing 10 people.
(AP, 11/27/05)
2006 Mar 31, In western Iran 3
strong earthquakes and several aftershocks reduced villages to rubble,
killing 70 people and injuring about 1,200 others.
(AP, 3/31/06)(AP, 3/31/07)
2006 May 27, A powerful earthquake
flattened homes and hotels in central Indonesia as people slept,
killing at least 3,000 and injuring thousands more in the nation's
worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
(AP, 5/27/06)
2006 Dec 8, In Basel, Switzerland,
a 3.4 magnitude tremor was accidentally triggered by engineers drilling
deep into the Earth's crust to tap its inner heat, in the world's
search for new sources of energy.
(AP, 8/4/07)
2007 Feb 21, A 5.7 magnitude
earthquake shook southeastern Turkey. A five-story apartment building
collapsed in Istanbul, killing at least two people and injuring more
than two dozen others.
(AP, 2/21/07)
2007 Jul 16, A 6.8 earthquake
struck northwestern Japan, destroying hundreds of homes, buckling
seaside bridges and causing a fire at one of the world's most powerful
nuclear power plants. 11 people were killed and hundreds were injured.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant suffered a slew of problems,
including spilled waste drums, leaked radioactive water, fires and
burst pipes.
(AFP, 7/16/07)(WSJ, 1/17/07, p.A1)(Econ, 7/21/07,
p.41)(AP, 7/16/08)
2007 Aug 2, A 6.4-magnitude quake
struck on the southern tip of Sakhalin island, just north of Japan. At
least 2 people were killed and some 2,000 in Nevelsk moved to tent
camps after the powerful earthquake left apartment buildings in ruins.
(AP, 8/3/07)
2007 Aug 15, A magnitude-8.0
trembler rocked Peru's coast, toppling buildings leaving some 610
people dead and 36,000 homes damaged. State doctors called off a
national strike to handle the emergency. Two prisons collapsed and 600
prisoners escaped. About a third gave themselves up over the next week.
Tremors destroyed 80% of Pisco, where 148 people died when the city
cathedral collapsed.
(AP, 8/16/07)(Econ, 8/25/07, p.35)(SSFC, 4/6/08,
p.A14)(Econ, 8/16/08, p.37)
2007 Sep 12, A massive 8.4
earthquake struck Indonesia, killing at least 10 people, injuring
dozens and triggering a tsunami that hit one city on the island of
Sumatra.
(AP, 9/12/07)(Reuters, 9/13/07)
2007 Sep 13, Three powerful
earthquakes jolted Indonesia in less than 24 hours, triggering tsunami
alerts and sending panicked residents fleeing to high ground. At least
10 people were killed in the tremors.
(Reuters, 9/13/07)
2007 Sep 14, Powerful earthquakes
struck Indonesia for a third day, terrorizing thousands of people who
slept outside in fear of tsunami and falling debris. The death toll
reached 13 and seismologists warned that the worst may be yet to
come.
(AP, 9/14/07)
2007 Oct 30,
The San Francisco Bay area's largest earthquake in nearly two
decades rattled homes and nerves. The magnitude-5.6 temblor on the
Calaveras Fault caused no serious damage or injuries.
(AP, 10/31/07)(SFC, 10/31/07, p.A1)
2008 Apr 18, A magnitude 5.2
earthquake hit southern Illinois in the Ozark Dome region and was felt
across the Midwest.
(SFC, 4/19/08, p.A5)
2008 May 12, Initial reports said
a 7.8 earthquake struck central China, killing over 9,000 people and
trapping nearly 900 students under the rubble of their school. 80% of
the buildings had collapsed in Beichuan county in Sichuan province. The
death toll soon exceeded 12,000 in Sichuan province alone. 18,645 were
reported buried in debris in the city of Mianyang, near the epicenter
of the quake, whose magnitude was raised to 7.9. The Sichuan quake
ended up killing some 80,000 people. Scientists in 2009 linked the
quake to the Zipingu Dam, 5.5 km from the epicenter. In 2009 an
official tally said 5,335 students were left dead or missing.
(AP, 5/1208)(AP, 5/13/08)(WSJ, 2/7/08, p.A6)(AP,
5/7/09)
2008 May 14, China’s Xinhua News
Agency said that 2,000 troops had been sent to work on the Zipingku
Dam, upriver from Dujiangyan in Sichuan province as the death toll from
the May 12 earthquake approached 15,000.
(AP, 5/14/08)
2008 May 22, China said the toll
of dead and missing from last week's powerful earthquake jumped to more
than 80,000, while the government appealed for millions of tents to
shelter homeless survivors.
(AP, 5/22/08)
2008 Jun 8, In southwestern Greece
a strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 struck near the
port city of Patras, killing at least two people and injuring more than
200.
(AP, 6/8/08)(SFC, 6/10/08, p.A10)
2008 Jun 14, In northern Japan a
magnitude-7.2 earthquake ripped across mountains and rice fields,
killing at least 13 people as it sheared off hillsides, jolted
buildings and shook nuclear power plants. 10 people remained missing.
(SFC, 6/17/08, p.A8)(AP, 6/18/08)(AFP, 7/10/08)
2008 Aug 5, A magnitude 6.0
earthquake rocked the western Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Gansu,
killing one person and injuring 23 near the site of May's devastating
quake that killed at least 70,000 people.
(Reuters, 8/5/08)
2008 Aug 30, A 6.1 earthquake hit
southwest China's Sichuan province, killing least 36 people and turning
tens of thousands of homes into rubble and cracked reservoirs.
(Reuters, 8/30/08)(AP, 8/31/08)(AP, 9/1/08)
2008 Sep 10, A strong earthquake
rocked southern Iran sending tremors across the Persian Gulf to the
skyscrapers of Dubai. Iranian state television reported that seven
people were killed and 40 others were injured.
(AP, 9/10/08)
2008 Oct 5, A 6.6-magnitude
earthquake struck the mountains of Central Asia, destroying Nura
village in Kyrgyzstan and killing at least 75 people including 41
children.
(AP, 10/6/08)(AP, 10/7/08)(SFC, 10/11/08, p.B6)
2008 Oct 6, A magnitude 6.6
earthquake killed at least 30 people in Tibet with a number of people
buried in debris.
(Reuters, 10/6/08)
2008 Oct 11, A strong earthquake
hit Chechnya and other parts of Russia's North Caucasus, killing at
least 13 people and damaging scores of hospitals, schools and other
buildings.
(AP, 10/11/08)(SFC, 10/18/08, p.B6)
2008 Oct 29, In southwestern
Pakistan a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck before dawn, killing at
least 215 people and turning mud and timber homes into rubble. An
estimated 15,000 people were left homeless, and rescuers were digging
for survivors in a remote valley in Baluchistan province. Officials
later feared the death toll would pass 300.
(AP, 10/29/08)(AP, 10/30/08)(AP, 10/31/08)
2008 Nov 17, In eastern Indonesia
a 7.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sulawesi killed at least 6
people, damaged hundreds of homes and briefly triggered a region-wide
tsunami warning.
(AP, 11/17/08)(SFC, 11/17/08, p.A3)(AP, 11/18/08)
2008 Nov 10, George W. Housner
(b.1910), known in his profession as the father of earthquake of
engineering, died.
(WSJ, 11/22/08, p.A11)
2008 Dec 29, Yellowstone National
Park was jostled by a host of small earthquakes for a third straight
day, and scientists watched closely to see whether the more than 250
tremors were a sign of something bigger to come.
(AP, 12/30/08)
2009 Jan 4, In eastern Indonesia a
series of powerful earthquakes toppled or badly damaged more than 100
buildings and left one person dead and dozens injured.
(AP, 1/4/09)(AP, 1/5/09)
2009 Jan 8, A magnitude 6.1
earthquake rocked Costa Rica killing at least 20 people with dozens
still missing.
(AP, 1/9/09)(AP, 1/14/09)
2009 Jan 21, Haydar Al-Shukri, the
director of the Arkansas Earthquake Center at the University of
Arkansas at Little Rock, said a previously unknown fault, could trigger
a magnitude 7 earthquake with an epicenter near a major natural gas
pipeline.
(AP, 1/22/09)
2009 Jan 25, In China a Richter
scale 5.0 earthquake hit an area inhabited by the Xibe people. It
destroyed nearly 200 homes and damaged nearly 3,000 buildings. The
community, originally from Manchuria, had established a frontier
garrison in Xinjiang during the Qing dynasty.
(Reuters, 1/26/09)
2009 Feb 12, In Indonesia at least
42 people were injured and hundreds of homes and buildings damaged when
a major earthquake struck off Sulawesi island near the Philippines.
(AP, 2/12/09)
2009 Apr 6, In central Italy a
magnitude 6.3 earthquake knocked down whole blocks of buildings as
residents slept, killing 294 people in L'Aquila, capital of the Abruzzo
region, which was near the epicenter. It was the country's deadliest
quake in nearly three decades. Tens of thousands were homeless and
1,500 were injured. 8 students were killed when their dorm
collapsed in L'Aquila. Investigations into shoddy construction
soon followed.
(AFP, 4/6/09)(AP, 4/6/09)(AP, 4/9/09)(Econ, 4/18/09,
p.28)(AP, 10/19/09)
2009 Apr 17, In Afghanistan two
earthquakes shook eastern Nangarhar province, collapsing mud-brick
homes on top of villagers while they slept and killing at least 21
people. Two suicide bombers on foot tried to attack the office of the
minister of refugees in southern Nimroz province. Guards shot and
killed one bomber at the scene of the attempted attack. While fleeing
the 2nd bomber detonated his explosives, killing 3 civilians. A
Norwegian intelligence officer serving with the nation's peacekeeping
force was killed by a roadside bomb near the northern city of Maymana.
(AP, 4/17/09)
2009 Apr 27, In Mexico an
earthquake of magnitude 5.6 was centered near Chilpancingo, about 130
miles (210 km) southwest of Mexico City. 2 women aged 67 and 75 died of
heart attacks during or shortly after the earthquake, and four homes
and a perimeter wall collapsed in and around the resort of Acapulco.
(AP, 4/28/09)
2009 May 28, In Belize and
Honduras a magnitude 7.1 earthquake collapsed more than two dozen
homes, killing at least 6 people and injuring 40 others as terrified
people ran into the streets in towns across much of Central America.
(AP, 5/28/09)
2009 Jul 9, In China a 6.0
earthquake rocked Yunnan province, killing one person and destroying
thousands of houses. More than 400,000 people left their homes
following the tremor that left at least one person dead.
(AP, 7/10/09)
2009 Sep 2, A powerful 7.0
earthquake rattled southern Indonesia, killing at least 64 people
crushed by falling rock or collapsed buildings and sending thousands
fleeing outdoors for safety in the middle of the work day. More than
10,000 buildings were severely damaged.
(AP, 9/2/09)(AP, 9/4/09)
2009 Sep 19, In Indonesia a strong
earthquake shook the popular resort island of Bali, injuring at least
seven people and sending panicked tourists and residents fleeing out of
homes and hotels.
(AP, 9/19/09)
2009 Sep 21, A strong
6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan,
killing at least 12 people and damaging monasteries and other buildings.
(AP, 9/21/09)(AP, 9/22/09)
2009 Sep 29, A magnitude 8.0-8.3
earthquake struck about 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa, which
has about 180,000 people, and American Samoa, a US territory of 65,000.
Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) high roared ashore on
American Samoa, reaching up to a mile (1.5 kilometers) inland. At least
136 were killed in Samoa and at least 32 on American Samoa and leaving
dozens missing. Authorities in Tonga, south of the Samoas, confirmed at
least 9 dead.
(AP, 9/30/09)(AFP, 10/1/09)(AP, 10/5/09)
2009 Sep 29, A magnitude 8.0-8.3
earthquake struck about 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa,
population about 180,000 people, and American Samoa, a US territory of
65,000. Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) high roared
ashore on American Samoa, reaching up to a mile (1.5km) inland. At
least 142 were killed in Samoa and at least 32 on American Samoa and
leaving dozens missing. Authorities in Tonga, south of the Samoas,
confirmed at least 9 dead.
(AP, 9/30/09)(AFP, 10/1/09)(AP, 10/5/09)(SSFC,
10/11/09, p.A14)
2009 Oct 1, In Indonesia rescue
workers used excavators to pull out victims from the heavy rubble of
buildings felled by the previous day’s 7.6 earthquake. The death toll
was expected to rise. The region was jolted by another powerful
earthquake, causing damage but no reported fatalities.
(AP, 10/1/09)(AP, 10/2/09)
2009 Nov 4, A 4.9-magnitude
earthquake struck Bandar Abbas, a key port city in southern Iran,
injuring at least 700 people and cutting power and telephone lines.
(AP, 11/4/09)
2009 Nov 9, In central Indonesia
6.7 undersea earthquake killed one person, injured dozens and damaged
hundreds of houses on remote Sumbawa Island. Local officials said
torrential rains have triggered a series of landslides on Sulawesi
island, killing at least 14 residents and burying many more.
(AP, 11/9/09)
2009 Dec 19, A 6.4-magnitude quake
was centered off the eastern coast of Taiwan. 14 people were injured
and with minor damage in Taipei as well as near the epicenter.
(AP, 12/19/09)
2009 Dec 20, In Malawi a 6.0
earthquake destroyed several buildings in the southeastern Karonga
district, killing at least three people and injuring about 200.
(AP, 12/20/09)
2010 Jan 2, In Tajikistan a
magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck the Pamir Mountains. Some 783 people
were left homeless. 98 houses were completely destroyed and nearly
1,000 others damaged by the quake that hit several villages in the
Gorno-Badakhshansky region.
(AP, 1/3/10)(AP, 1/5/10)
2010 Jan 4, A tsunami unleashed by
an earthquake plowed into the Solomon Islands with the crashing waters
devastating at least one village, leaving over a thousand people
homeless. The US Geological Survey recorded 8 earthquakes in the region
since late Jan 3. The magnitude 7.2 was centered 64 miles (103 km)
southeast of Gizo, and followed a 6.5 tremor less than two hours
earlier centered 54 miles (90 km) southeast of Gizo at a depth of 6
miles (10 km).
(AP, 1/4/10)(AP, 1/5/10)
2010 Jan 12, A powerful 7.0
earthquake hit Haiti and crushed thousands of structures, from schools
and shacks to the National Palace. Thousands of people were believed
dead and untold numbers were trapped. An estimated 3 million people
were in need of emergency aid.
(AP, 1/13/10)
2010 Jan 18, The European Union
said some 200,000 people may have been killed in the magnitude-7.0
quake, quoting Haitian officials who also said about 70,000 bodies have
been recovered so far.
(AP, 1/18/10)
2010 Jan 20, A 6.1 aftershock
struck Haiti, shaking more rubble from damaged buildings and sending
screaming people running into the streets eight days after the
country's capital was devastated by an apocalyptic quake.
(AP, 1/20/10)
2010 Feb 25, In China at least 29
people were injured and hundreds of buildings damaged in a magnitude
5.4 earthquake in southwestern Yunnan province.
(AP, 2/26/10)
2010 Feb 27, A major earthquake
struck Chile, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks
into the fractured earth. Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma said it
was the most powerful quake to hit the country in a half-century.
Authorities the next day put the death toll from the earthquake at over
700, and believed the number would grow. Some 1.5 million Chileans were
affected and 500,000 homes severely damaged by the temblor. A tsunami
caused by the quake swept across the Pacific and killed several people
on a Chilean island. It devastated coastal communities near the
epicenter, but caused little damage in other countries.
(AP, 2/27/10)(AP, 2/28/10)
2010 Mar 4, Chile’s government
said it had identified 279 dead, dropping the confirmed official death
toll from 802. The Feb 6 magnitude-8.8 quake, one of the strongest on
record, and the tsunami that followed ravaged a 700-km (435-mile)
stretch of Chile's Pacific coast.
(AP, 3/5/10)
2010 Mar 4, In Taiwan a powerful
6.4 earthquake and more than a dozen aftershocks jolted southern
Taiwan, injuring 96 people, toppling farm houses and derailing a
carriage on a high-speed train.
(AP, 3/4/10)
2010 Mar 5, In Chile 3 strong
aftershocks shook the center of the country, sending panicked residents
rushing out of their homes and leveling more buildings in an area
already hard hit by the Feb 6 monster earthquake.
(AFP, 3/5/10)
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Subject = Earthquake
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