Earthquakes with 1,000 or More Deaths from 1900 through 14-Oct-97
Date Location Coordinates Deaths Mag Comments
1902 Dec 16 Turkestan 40.8 N 72.6 E 4,500 6.4
1905 Apr 4 India, Kangra 33.0 N 76.0 E 19,000 8.6
1905 Sep 8 Italy, Calabria 39.4 N 16.4 E 2,500 7.9
1906 Jan 31 Colombia 1 N 81.5 W 1,000 8.9
1906 Mar 17 Formosa, Kagi - - 1,300 7.1
1906 Aug 17 Chile, Santiago 33 S 72 W 20,000 8.6
1907 Jan 14 Jamaica, Kingston 18.2 N 76.7 W 1,600 6.5
1907 Oct 21 Central Asia 38 N 69 E 12,000 8.1
1908 Dec 28 Italy, Messina 38 N 15.5 E 70,000 7.5 Deaths from
to 100,000 earthquake
and tsunami.
1912 Aug 9 Marmara Sea 40.5 N 27 E 1,950 7.8
1915 Jan 13 Italy, Avezzano 42 N 13.5 E 29,980 7.5
1920 Dec 16 China, Gansu 35.8 N 105.7 E 200,000 8.6 Major fractures,
landslides.
1923 Sep 1 Japan, Kwanto 35.0 N 139.5 E 143,000 8.3 Great Tokyo fire.
Tokyo-Yokohama
1925 Mar 16 China, Yunnan 25.5 N 100.3 E 5,000 7.1 Talifu almost
completely
destroyed.
1927 Mar 7 Japan, Tango 35.8 N 134.8 E 3,020 7.9
1927 May 22 China, near Xining 36.8 N 102.8 E 200,000 8.3 Large fractures.
1929 May 1 Iran 38 N 58 E 3,300 7.4
1930 Jul 23 Italy 41.1 N 15.4 E 1,430 6.5
1932 Dec 25 China, Gansu 39.7 N 97.0 E 70,000 7.6
1933 Mar 2 Japan, Sanriku 39.0 N 143.0 E 2,990 8.9
1934 Jan 15 India, Bihar-Nepal 26.6 N 86.8 E 10,700 8.4
1935 Apr 20 Formosa 24.0 N 121.0 E 3,280 7.1
1935 May 30 Pakistan, Quetta 29.6 N 66.5 E 30,000 7.5 Quetta almost
to 60,000 completely
destroyed.
1939 Jan 25 Chile, Chillan 36.2 S 72.2 W 28,000 8.3
1939 Dec 26 Turkey, Erzincan 39.6 N 38 E 30,000 8.0
1943 Sep 10 Japan, Tottori 35.6 N 134.2 E 1,190 7.4
1944 Dec 7 Japan, Tonankai 33.7 N 136.2 E 1,000 8.3
1945 Jan 12 Japan Mikawa 34.8 N 137.0 E 1,900 7.1
1946 May 31 Turkey 39.5 N 41.5 E 1,300 6.0
1946 Nov 10 Peru, Ancash 8.3 S 77.8 W 1,400 7.3 Landslides, great
destruction.
1946 Dec 20 Japan, Tonankai 32.5 N 134.5 E 1,330 8.4
1948 Jun 28 Japan, Fukui 36.1 N 136.2 E 5,390 7.3
1949 Aug 5 Ecuador, Ambato 1.2 S 78.5 E 6,000 6.8 Large landslides,
topographical
changes.
1950 Aug 15 India, Assam, Tibet 28.7 N 96.6 E 1,530 8.7 Great topographical
changes, landslides,
floods.
1954 Sep 9 Algeria, 36 N 1.6 E 1,250 6.8
Orleansville
1957 Jul 2 Iran 36.2 N 52.7 E 1,200 7.4
1957 Dec 13 Iran 34.4 N 47.6 E 1,130 7.3
1960 Feb 29 Morocco, Agadir 30 N 9 W 10,000 5.9 Occurred at
to 15,000 shallow depth
just under city.
1960 May 22 Chile 39.5 S 74.5 W 4,000 9.5* Tsunami, volcanic
to 5,000 activity, floods.
1962 Sep 1 Iran, Qazvin 35.6 N 49.9 E 12,230 7.3
1963 Jul 26 Yugoslavia, Skopje 42.1 N 21.4 E 1,100 6.0 Occurred at
shallow depth
just under city.
1966 Aug 19 Turkey, Varto 39.2 N 41.7 E 2,520 7.1
1968 Aug 31 Iran 34.0 N 59.0 E 12,000 7.3
to 20,000
1969 Jul 25 Eastern China 21.6 N 111.9 E 3,000 5.9
1970 Jan 4 Yunnan Province, 24.1 N 102.5 E 10,000 7.5
China
1970 Mar 28 Turkey, Gediz 39.2 N 29.5 E 1,100 7.3
1970 May 31 Peru 9.2 S 78.8 W 66,000 7.8 $530,000
damage, great
rock slide, floods.
1972 Apr 10 Iran, southern 28.4 N 52.8 E 5,054 7.1
1972 Dec 23 Nicaragua, Managua 12.4 N 86.1 W 5,000 6.2
1975 Sep 6 Turkey 38.5 N 40.7 E 2,300 6.7
1976 Feb 4 Guatemala 15.3 N 89.1 W 23,000 7.5
1976 May 6 Italy, northeastern 46.4 N 13.3 E 1,000 6.5
1976 Jun 25 West Irian 4.6 S 140.1 E 422 7.1 5,000 to 9,000
(New Guinea) (missing and
presumed dead).
1976 Jul 27 China, Tangshan 39.6 N 118.0 E 255,000 8.0 Estimated death toll
(official) as high as 655,000.
1976 Aug 16 Philippines, 6.3 N 124.0 E 8,000 7.9
Mindanao
1976 Nov 24 Northwest Iran- 39.1 N 44.0 E 5,000 7.3 Deaths estimated.
USSR border
1977 Mar 4 Romania 45.8 N 26.8 E 1,500 7.2
1978 Sep 16 Iran 33.2 N 57.4 E 15,000 7.8
1980 Oct 10 Algeria, El Asnam 36.1 N 1.4 E 3,500 7.7
(formerly Orleansville)
1980 Nov 23 Italy, southern 40.9 N 15.3 E 3,000 7.2
1981 Jun 11 Iran, southern 29.9 N 57.7 E 3,000 6.9
1981 Jul 28 Iran, southern 30.0 N 57.8 E 1,500 7.3
1982 Dec 13 Western Arabian 14.7 N 44.4 E 2,800 6.0
Peninsula
1983 Oct 30 Turkey 40.3 N 42.2 E 1,342 6.9
1985 Sep 19 Mexico, Michoacan 18.2 N 102.5 W 9,500 8.1 Estimated death toll
(official) as high as 30,000.
1986 Oct 10 El Salvador 13.8 N 89.2 W 1,000+5.5
1987 Mar 6 Colombia-Ecuador 0.2 N 77.8 W 1,000+7.0
1988 Aug 20 Nepal-India 26.8 N 86.6 E 1,450 6.6
border region
1988 Dec 7 Turkey-USSR 41.0 N 44.2 E 25,000 7.0
border region
1990 Jun 20 Western Iran 37.0 N 49.4 E 40,000 7.7 Landslides.
to 50,000
1990 Jul 16 Luzon, Philippine 15.7 N 121.2 E 1,621 7.8 Landslides,
Islands subsidence,
and sandblows.
1991 Oct 19 Northen India 30.8 N 78.8 E 2,000 7.0
1992 Dec 12 Flores Region, 8.5 S 121.9 E 2,500 7.5 Tsunami ran inland 300
Indonesia meters; wave height 25
meters.
1993 Sep 29 Southern India 18.1 N 76.5 E 9,748 6.3
1995 Jan 16 Near S. Coast of 34.6 N 135 E 5,502 6.9 Landslide, liquifaction.
Western Honshu,
Japan
1995 May 27 Sakhalin Island 52.6 N 142.8 E 1.989 7.5
1997 May 10 Northern Iran 33.9 N 59.7 E 1,560 7.5 4,460 injured, 60,000
homeless.
Data compiled from several sources.