Millions of years ago, powerful earthquakes occurred on our home planet every day - the formation of the Earth's image familiar to us, was going on. Today we can say that seismic activity practically does not disturb humanity.
However, sometimes violent activity in the bowels of the planet makes itself felt, and tremors lead to the destruction of buildings and deaths. In today's selection we bring to your attention 10 most devastating earthquakes in modern history.
10. Iran, June 21, 1990
The strength of the shocks reached 7.7 points. An earthquake in the province of Gilan led to the deaths of 40 thousand people, more than 6 thousand were injured. Significant destruction suffered 9 cities and about 700 small towns.
9. Peru, May 31, 1970
The worst natural disaster in the history of the country claimed the lives of 67 thousand Peruvians. The 7.5-point push lasted about 45 seconds. As a result, landslides and floods occurred over a vast territory, which led to truly devastating consequences.
8. China, May 12, 2008
A powerful earthquake in Sichuan province had a force of 7.8 points and led to the deaths of 69 thousand people. About 18 thousand are still considered missing, and more than 370 thousand were injured.
7. Pakistan, October 8, 2005
An earthquake of 7.6 points claimed the lives of 84 thousand people. The epicenter of the disaster was located in the Kashmir region. As a result of the earthquake, a gap with a length of 100 km was formed on the surface of the Earth.
6. Turkey, December 27, 1939
The strength of the shocks during this devastating earthquake reached 8 points. Strong shocks lasted about a minute, and then 7 so-called “aftershocks” followed - weaker echoes of the concussion. As a result of the disaster killed 100 thousand people.
5. Turkmen SSR, October 6, 1948
The strength of the shocks at the epicenter of a powerful earthquake reached 10 points on the Richter scale. Ashgabat was almost completely destroyed, and the victims of the disaster, according to various estimates, were from 100 to 165 thousand people. Every year on October 6, Turkmenistan marks the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Earthquake.
4. Japan, September 1, 1923
The great Kanto earthquake, as the Japanese call it, almost completely destroyed Tokyo and Yokohama. The strength of the tremors reached 8.3 points, resulting in the death of 174 thousand people. The damage from the earthquake was estimated at $ 4.5 billion, which at that time amounted to two annual budgets of the country.
3. Indonesia, December 26, 2004
An underwater earthquake of 9.3 points caused a series of tsunamis, which killed 230 thousand people. As a result of the natural disaster, the countries of Asia, Indonesia and the east coast of Africa were affected.
2. China, July 28, 1976
An earthquake of 8.2 points claimed the lives of almost 230 thousand people in the vicinity of the Chinese city of Tangshan. Many international experts believe that official statistics greatly underestimated the death toll, which may be equal to 800 thousand people.
1. Haiti, January 12, 2010
Power the most devastating earthquake in the last 100 years amounted to only 7 points, but the number of casualties exceeded 232 thousand. Several million Haitians were left homeless, and the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, was almost completely destroyed. As a result, people had to survive for months under conditions of devastation and unsanitary conditions, which led to the outbreak of a number of serious infections, including cholera.
