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People carry victims to a disaster area, following a massive earthquake in Nepal in April 2015. (Getty Images)

Earthquakes have claimed millions of lives, dead and injured, over the past 100 years, and technological developments can only slightly reduce the number of fatalities.

June 22, 2022

A magnitude 6.1 (M) earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed 1,000 people and injured more than 1,500.

August 19, 2021

A 7.2M earthquake in Haiti has killed more than 2,000 people and injured more than 12,000. Haitian authorities estimate that 600,000 people need emergency assistance.

A mother and daughter forced to spend the night by the side of the road after their home was destroyed by an earthquake in Les Cayes, Haiti (AFP)

January 15, 2021

Indonesia was rocked by a 6.2 M earthquake, which killed 105 people. At this time, the epicenter of the earthquake occurred on the island of Sulawesi.

November 26, 2019

Towards the end of the year, Albania experienced the strongest earthquake ever recorded. At least 41 people died in the 6.4M earthquake, which also injured 3,000.

September 28, 2018

More than 460 people died after the 6.9M earthquake shook Palu and Donggala in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The massive earthquake destroyed homes, mosques and workplaces, prompting the evacuation of 350,000 people.

August 5, 2018

A month earlier, a 6.4M earthquake in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara killed 16 people and after that the area experienced hundreds of aftershocks.

November 12, 2017

A magnitude 7.3 shock occurred on the Iran-Iraq border in 2017. Around 440 people were killed and 10,000 injured. The quake was also felt in Israel and the Gulf region.

September 19, 2017

At least 369 people died – mostly in and around Mexico City – in the 7.1M earthquake.

The quake was an aftershock of a stronger, but less deadly earthquake 12 days earlier.

The earthquake that occurred on September 7, with a magnitude of 8.1M, was the strongest quake to shake the country in a century, but the epicenter of the quake was offshore.

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August 24, 2016

At least 298 people died when a 6M earthquake rocked Italy. The most affected town was Amatrice, where many historic buildings collapsed.

April 16, 2016

A 7.8M earthquake shook the coast of Ecuador, killing 650 people. More than 16,000 people were injured and around 7,000 buildings were destroyed.

October 26, 2015

Nearly 400 people died when a 7.5M earthquake shook northeast Afghanistan. Most of those who died were in Pakistan, but shocks were also felt in northern India and Tajikistan.

April 25, 2015

A massive 7.8M earthquake has killed 8,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in Nepal’s worst natural disaster since 1934.

In parts of the country, the earthquake razed 98% of homes in villages on the slopes of the Himalayas.

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August 3, 2014

About 600 people died in the 6.1M earthquake that rocked Yunnan in China.

Thousands of houses were destroyed and landslides occurred frequently after the earthquake. More than 2,400 people were injured.

October 15, 2013

More than 200 people have died after a 7.2M earthquake shook Bohol and Cebu in the Philippines.

September 25, 2013

More than 300 people died in the 7.7M earthquake which leveled entire villages in remote Balochistan in Pakistan. A lot of damage took place in the Awaran district.

April 20, 2013

The 6.6M earthquake has killed at least 160 people and injured 5,700 in Sichuan province, located in western China.

August 11, 2012

At least 250 people have been killed and more than 2,000 injured in northwestern Iran by two powerful earthquakes which rocked within minutes of one quake the other in the cities of Tabriz and ‘Ahar.

October 23, 2011

More than 200 people died and 1,000 people were injured in the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shook southeastern Turkey. Many victims were in the town of Ercis, where many buildings were destroyed by the earthquake.

March 11, 2011

A deadly 8.9M earthquake rocked Japan, leaving more than 20,000 dead or missing.

The shock triggered a tsunami off the coast of Japan and triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

February 22, 2011

A 6.3M earthquake shook the city of Christchurch in New Zealand, killing more than 160 people and destroying 100,000 homes.

April 14, 2010

At least 400 people died in a 6.9 magnitude earthquake that rocked western China’s Qinghai province.

February 27, 2010

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake shook the city of Concepcion in northeastern Chile, killing 700 people.

January 12, 2010

About 230,000 people died in and around Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, after a 7.0M earthquake rocked the city.

September 30, 2009

More than 1,000 people have died after an earthquake rocked Sumatra in Indonesia.

April 6, 2009

A massive earthquake rocked L’Aquila, one of Italy’s historic towns, killing 309 people.

October 29, 2008

Around 300 people in Pakistan’s Balochistan province have died after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook the city of Quetta.

May 12, 2008

About 87,000 people died or went missing and another 370,000 people were injured in the earthquake in Sichuan, China.

The earthquake, measuring 7.8 M, shook 92 km from the provincial capital, Chengdu.

August 15, 2007

At least 519 people have died in the Peruvian coastal province of Ica, after a 7.9M underwater earthquake struck 145km southeast of Peru’s capital Lima.

July 17, 2006

An undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7M triggered a tsunami that occurred 200 kilometers along the southern coast of Java, killing more than 650 people.

May 27, 2006

More than 5,700 people died when a 6.2M earthquake shook Yogyakarta and its surroundings.

October 8, 2005

A 7.6M earthquake hit northern Pakistan and Kashmir, leaving 73,000 dead and millions homeless.

March 28, 2005

About 1,300 people died as a result of the 8.7M earthquake that hit the coast of Nias Island, West Sumatra.

February 22, 2005

Hundreds of people have died after a 6.4 quake rocked a remote area near Zarand in Iran’s Kerman province.

December 26, 2004

Hundreds of thousands of people died in several Asian countries when a massive 9.2 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that devastated several affected areas, including Aceh in Indonesia.

February 24, 2004

At least 500 people died in the earthquake that shook several towns on the Moroccan coast.

December 26, 2003

More than 26,000 people died when a strong earthquake devastated the historic city of Bam in southern Iran.

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May 21, 2003

Algeria suffered its worst earthquake in two decades, which left 2,000 dead and 8,000 injured when the quake hit the Spanish Sea.

May 1, 2003

More than 160 people have died, including 83 children living in a home destroyed by the earthquake in southeastern Turkey.

February 24, 2003

More than 260 people died and nearly 10,000 homes in Xinjiang, China were destroyed by the quake.

October 31, 2002

A tragedy occurred in Italy when all the students in a class died due to the earthquake in San Giuliano, Puglia, which caused the school building to collapse.

January 26, 2001

A 7.9M earthquake devastated large parts of India’s Gujarat region, killing nearly 20,000 people and displacing millions more.

Bhuj and Ahmedabad are among the hardest hit cities.

November 12, 1999

About 400 people died when an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale (SR) shook Ducze in Turkey.

September 21, 1999

Taiwan was rocked by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that killed nearly 2,500 people and caused damage to all cities on the island.

August 17, 1999

The 7.4M earthquake rocked the Turkish cities of Izmit and Istanbul, killing 17,000 people and injuring many more.

May 30, 1998

Northern Afghanistan was rocked by a massive earthquake, which killed 4,000 people.

May 1997

More than 1,600 people died in Birjand, Iran, following a 7.1M earthquake.

May 27, 1995

Sakhalin Island in Russia was rocked by a 7.5M earthquake that killed 1,989 people.

January 17, 1995

A major tremor occurred in Kobe, Japan, killing 6,430 people.

September 30, 1993

About 10,000 people died as a result of the quake in western and southern India.

June 21, 1990

Around 40,000 people died as a result of the tremors in Iran’s northern Gilan province.

December 7, 1988

An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale has devastated Armenia, killing 25,000 people.

September 19, 1985

Mexico City was rocked by a massive earthquake that destroyed buildings and killed 10,000 people.

March 4, 1977

About 1,500 people died in the violent earthquake that rocked Bucharest, the capital of Romania.

July 28, 1976

The Chinese city of Tangsan has been devastated by an earthquake that is believed to have killed 250,000 people.

February 4, 1976

The earthquake devastated large areas of the city of Los Amates in eastern Guatemala, killing an estimated 23,000 people.

December 23, 1972

Nearly 10,000 people died in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, due to the 6.5 magnitude earthquake.

High-rise buildings that collapse easily are believed to be the cause of many buildings destroyed by the earthquake.

May 31, 1970

The earthquake, which struck the highlands of the Peruvian Andes, triggered a landslide that buried the town of Yungai and killed 66,000 people.

July 26, 1963

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook Macedonia’s capital Skopje, leaving 1,000 dead and another 100,000 homeless.

May 22, 1960

The 9.5 magnitude earthquake, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the world, devastated Chile.

Tsunami waves as high as 10 meters devastated the coastal area.

The death toll varies, but an estimated 2,000 people died from this earthquake.

September 1, 1923

Earthquake centered near Tokyo kills 142,800 in Japanese capital

December 28, 1908

An approximately 7.1M earthquake and tsunami wave hit the Strait of Messina in Italy, destroying the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria.

The death rate is estimated at between 70,000 and 80,000.

April 18, 1906

The city of San Francisco in the United States was shaken by several earthquakes that lasted one minute. Between 700 and 3,000 people died, either as a result of falling buildings or fires.

(nvc/nvc)