AWFUL EARTHQUAKES
Added on: 7th Aug 2015
TABRIZ, IRAN
This took place near the city of Tabriz, Iran on April 26, 1721, and
destroyed prominent mosques and schools resulting in death
casualties of 8,000 to 250,000, though it was approximated at 80,000
only. Interpreted as an omen of misfortune or a demonstration of
divine wrath, it contributed to the success of the Ottoman take-over
of Tabriz in 1722 and on its economic difficulties, as well as the
destruction of the city’s significant historical monuments.
LISBON, PORTUGAL
Known as the ‘Great Lisbon Earthquake,’ this event occurred on
November 1, 1755 in the Kingdom of Portugal. Seismologists
today estimate the Lisbon earthquake in the range of 8.5 to 9.0
on the moment magnitude scale that has a deadly combination of
subsequent fires and a tsunami. It totally destroyed Lisbon and its
surrounding areas with an estimated death toll of between 10,000
and 100,000 people. Because of its devastating effects over large
areas, this event resulted in the scientific studies of modern
seismology and earthquake engineering.
YUNGAY, PERU
This Great Peruvian Earthquake was an undersea earthquake that
affected the regions of Ancash and La Libertad. It occurred in May
31, 1970 and was recorded as the worst catastrophic natural disaster
that hit Peru, which affected over 3 million people. It has a magnitude
of 7.9 to 8.0 on the Richter scale with an intensity of VIII on the
Mercalli scale, which lasted for 45 seconds. This caused the rock, ice,
and snow avalanche on the northern wall of Mount Huascaran burying
the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca, which led to the death of
20,000 people in Yungay alone. The damages incurred tallied to 74,194
deaths, 25,600 missing, 143,331 injured, and more than a million homeless.
The estimated economic loss was more than half a billion USD with
the entire communication system and basic facilities destroyed.
SICILY, ITALY
On January 11, 1693, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4
and maximum intensity of XI or ‘extreme’ had struck the parts of
Sicily, Calabria, and Matta in southern Italy. Considered the most
powerful in Italian history, it destroyed at least 70 towns and cities
causing the death of 60,000 people. It was also followed by a tsunami
that hit the Ionian Sea and the Straits of Messina, wiping out two-thirds
of the entire population of Catania.
CALABRIA, ITALY
The Calabrian earthquakes were a series of five strong seismic
activities that hit the region of Calabria in southern Italy from February
5 to 7, and on March 1 and 28 of the year 1783, where the first two
resulted in significant tsunamis. It has an estimated magnitude
on the Richter scale of 5.9 or greater, and caused fatalities that range from
32,000 to 50,000 over a period of two months. The estimated
magnitude on February 5 was 7.9, which destroyed 180 villages and
has a death toll of 25,000; while the February 6 quake brought a
magnitude of 6.2 with tsunami reaching 200 meters inland causing
the death of 1,500 people. The succeeding events were of similar
magnitude and destroyed countless lives and properties as well.
RUDBAR, IRAN
This disastrous event happened on June 21, 1990 and caused
widespread damage within 100 kilometres of the epicentre’s radius
near the city of Rashi, and about 200 kilometres north west of
Tehran. It destroyed 700 villages across the cities of Rudbar, Manjiil and
Lushan and cost $200,000,000 in damages, including 40,000 fatalities,
60,000 injured and 500,000 people homeless.
IZMIT, TURKEY
This was a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck northern Turkey on
August 17, 1990, which lasted for only 3.7 seconds. The city of
Izmit was very badly damaged and had a death toll of 17,127 and
43, 959 injured though other sources suggested that the actual figure
for fatalities may be closer to 45,000 with a similar number of injured.
Another report from September 1999 showed that the earthquake
had destroyed 120,000 poorly-engineered houses, heavily damaged
50,000 houses; caused 2,000 buildings to collapse while 4,000 other
buildings were left severely damaged it made more than
300,000 people homeless.
NANKAIDO, JAPAN
This 8.6 magnitude earthquake that occurred on September 20, 1498,
off the coast of Nankia, Japan, triggered a large tsunami, which cost
the lives of between 26,000 and 31,000 people. It caused severe
shaking that reached the Boso Peninsula and also caused a tsunami
in the Suruga Bay, which destroyed the building that housed the
statue of the Great Buddha at Kotuku-in.
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