Deadliest Earthquakes in History

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Earthquake damage.
Earthquake damage.
(Image credit: USGS)

Tsunamis and fires have contributed to some of the largest death tolls in earthquakes. Here are the most notable known earthquake events, based on the number of deaths. Both deaths and magnitudes, when shown, are estimates.

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Date Location Deaths Magnitude Comments
January 23, 1556 China, Shansi 830,000 ~8 Damage up to 270 miles away
July 27, 1976 China, Tangshan 255,000 (official) 655,000 (estimated) 7.5 Estimated death toll as high as 655,000.
Dec. 26, 2004 Sumatra, Indonesia 227,898 9.1 Deaths from earthquake and tsunami
August 9, 1138 Syria, Aleppo 230,000 n/a Row 4 - Cell 4
Jan. 12, 2010 Haiti 222,570 7.0 1.3 million displaced.
May 22, 1927 China, near Xining 200,000 7.9 Large fractures.
December 22, 856+ Iran, Damghan 200,000 n/a Row 7 - Cell 4
December 16, 1920 China, Gansu 200,000 8.6 Major fractures, landslides.
March 23, 893 Iran, Ardabil 150,000 Row 9 - Cell 3 Row 9 - Cell 4
September 1, 1923 Japan, Kanto (Kwanto) 143,000 7.9 Great Tokyo fire.
October 5, 1948 USSR (Turkmenistan, Ashgabat) 110,000 7.3 Row 11 - Cell 4
December 28, 1908 Italy, Messina 70,000 to 100,000 (estimated) 7.2 Deaths from earthquake and tsunami.
September, 1290 China, Chihli 100,000 n/a Row 13 - Cell 4
May 12, 2008 Sichuan, China 87,586 7.9 More than 45.5 million affected
Oct. 8, 2005 Pakistan 85,000 7.6 More than 69,000 injured
November, 1667 Caucasia, Shemakha 80,000 Row 16 - Cell 3 Row 16 - Cell 4
November 18, 1727 Iran, Tabriz 77,000 n/a Row 17 - Cell 4
November 1, 1755 Portugal, Lisbon 70,000 8.7 Great tsunami.
December 25, 1932 China, Gansu 70,000 7.6 Row 19 - Cell 4
May 31, 1970 Peru 66,000 7.9 $530,000,000 damage, great rock slide, floods.
1268 Asia Minor, Silicia 60,000 n/a Row 21 - Cell 4
January 11, 1693 Italy, Sicily 60,000 Row 22 - Cell 3 Row 22 - Cell 4
May 30, 1935 Pakistan, Quetta 30,000 to 60,000 7.5 Quetta almost completely destroyed.
February 4, 1783 Italy, Calabria 50,000 Row 24 - Cell 3 Row 24 - Cell 4
June 20, 1990 Iran 50,000 7.7 Landslides.
Live Science Staff
Live Science Staff
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