Here are the 5 biggest earthquakes of the 21st century
2004: Indian Ocean Horror
There was a series of devastating earthquakes in the early 2000s. In December 2004, a 9.3 magnitude earthquake, the third strongest earthquake ever recorded, struck with an epicenter just off the west coast of Indonesia.
The shaking caused a 30-metre high tsunami that devastated communities along the coast of the Indian Ocean, killing a total of 227,898 people in 14 countries, thus making it the deadliest natural disaster ever recorded. In addition to the massive death toll, infrastructure was destroyed and economic activity was disrupted in coastal areas such as Indonesia’s Aceh and India’s Tamil Nadu states. The earthquake was so strong that it even triggered smaller seismic events as far away as Alaska.
2005: Kashmir Earthquake
In October 2005, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the western part of the Pakistan-administered Kashmir region and parts of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir regions. The disaster claimed the lives of 86,000 people, displaced millions and injured many. The disaster is considered the deadliest disaster in South Asia.
2008: Great Sichuan Earthquake
In May 2008, a strong earthquake struck Sichuan province in southwest China. The magnitude 8.0 earthquake caused the largest number of geological hazards ever recorded, including nearly 200,000 landslides. It was felt in Thailand and Vietnam as far away as Beijing and Shanghai.
The disaster claimed more than 80,000 lives and left nearly 5 million people homeless, making it the deadliest earthquake in China since 1976.
2010: Disaster In The Carribean
In January 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. The epicenter of the earthquake was located near the town of Leogane, just 25 km from the capital of Port-au-Prince.
The aftershocks caused by the earthquake lasted about two weeks and included at least 52 minor tremors of 4.5 or greater. The disaster affected nearly 3 million people. The Haitian government also said that the disaster claimed the lives of about 220,000 people. About 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings were destroyed, while extensive damage was done in Port-au-Prince and several other cities.
2011: Worst Since Chernobil
In March 2011, an undersea megastorm occurred with an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, about 72 km east of Japan. The 9.1 magnitude earthquake was the second strongest earthquake of the 21st century and the fourth largest recorded since modern record keeping practices were established in 1900.
The earthquake claimed the lives of more than 19,700 people and forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. A tsunami caused by the earthquake led to the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, described as the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. herb. Residents within a 20km radius of the Fukushima plant were evacuated. According to the World Bank, the estimated economic damage from the event amounted to $235 billion, making it the most costly disaster in history.