Transcript Largest Earthquake recorded - Mrs. Scaling's Website

Largest Earthquake recorded
 The largest earthquake (
magnitude 9.5) of the 20th
century occurred on May 22,
1960 off the coast of South
Central Chile.
 It generated one of the most
destructive Pacific-wide
tsunamis. Huge tsunami waves
measuring as high as 25 meters,
arrived within 10 to 15 minutes
after the earthquake.
 Approximately 1,655 killed,
3,000 injured, 2,000,000
homeless, and $550 million
damage in southern Chile;
tsunami caused 61 deaths, $75
million damage in Hawaii; 138
deaths and $50 million damage
in Japan; 32 dead and missing
in the Philippines; and $500,000
damage to the west coast of the
United States.
1964 Great Alaska Earthquake
 On March 27, 1964, at 5:36
p.m. a great earthquake of
magnitude 9.2 occurred in
Prince William Sound
region of Alaska.
 This earthquake is the
second largest earthquake
ever recorded in the world.
 The duration of rupture
lasted approximately 4
minutes.
 In the first day there were
11 aftershocks with
magnitudes greater than
6.0; in the next three weeks
there were 9 more. Smaller
aftershocks continued for
more than a year
 The damage totaled 300400 million dollars (1964
dollars).
 The number of deaths from
the earthquake totaled 131;
115 in Alaska and 16 in
Oregon and California.
 The death toll was
extremely small for a quake
of this magnitude due to
low population density, the
time of day and the fact that
it was a holiday (it was
Good Friday), and the type
of material used to
construct many buildings
(wood).
The Great 1964 Alaska earthquake generated
catastrophic tsunami waves that devastated
many towns in the Prince William Sound area of
Alaska, along the Gulf of Alaska, along the West
Coast of Canada and the United States, and in
the Hawaiian islands.
In Alaska, the tsunami height measurements
varied from 6.1 m at Kodiak Island, 9.1 m at
Valdez, 24.2 m at Blackstone Bay, and 27.4 m at
Chenega
Deadliest Earthquakes
January 23, 1556-China
 The earthquake occurred near
Huaxian, Shaanxi (formerly
Shensi), China,. More than
830,000 people were killed.
 Had an estimated magnitude of
8
 Damage extended as far away
as Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi
(formerly Shansi) and about 270
miles (430 km) northeast of the
epicenter. There are felt reports
as far away as Liuyang in
Hunan, more than 500 miles
(800 km) away.
 Geological effects reported
with this earthquake included
ground fissures, uplift,
subsidence, sandblows,
liquefaction and landslides.
Most towns in the damage
area reported city walls
collapsed, most to all houses
collapsed and many of the
towns reported ground
fissures with water gushing
out (ie. liquefaction and
sandblows).
December 26, 2004
Off the coast of Northern Sumatra
 a magnitude 9 undersea
earthquake shook the sea
bed off the north west coast
of Sumatra. Within hours
multiple tsunamis had
swept across the Indian
Ocean ravaging coastal
regions and killing over
220,000 people.
The waves spread out on their voyage of destruction
The power of tsunamis only becomes clear as they
approach shallow water along the coast
But from the beaches few people recognised the danger
of the white line on the horizon
Hildasan, 50, net-maker
I was repairing some
fishing nets in the
harbour when I saw the
waters rising. I'd never
seen anything like it. I
began to run for my life I knew something was
very wrong. The
rumbling noise, the
rising water, just didn't
make sense. As I ran
inland the sea seemed to
be roaring in the
background.
Their full force is unleashed as they break on to land
Sundar Raj, 21,
fisherman
I was sleeping in our
boat when the sea
began making a
rumbling sound. I saw
the water level rising. I
jumped into the water
and tied my boat to
the wharf as the waves
began lashing me from
behind. I climbed on to
the jetty and ran.
The killer wave strikes Kalutara Sri Lanka
The Aftermath
Early reports gave no
hint of the scale of the
disaster…….
“Scale of devastation
Thousands are reported
to have been killed, but
there has been little
news from the worst-hit
areas where all
transport and
communication links
were destroyed. “
bbc.co.uk 27.12.04
Low lying coastal
areas were left
obliterated and
flooded as here in
Aceh province in
Sumatra, Indonesia
Current reports
indicate that the north
and west coasts of
Sumatra have
experienced the worst
destruction
Whole villages were flattened as here in Sri Lanka
Fishing boats, which provide essential food supplies for local
people here in India, have been washed ashore
Scenes which were
repeated across the
Indian Ocean
Sri Lanka
Phuket,
Thailand
Low lying areas have
been left flooded with
seawater which quickly
becomes contaminated
with sewage and
decomposing bodies
Male in the
Maldives
Banda Aceh in
Sumatra, Indonesia
Relief efforts, which have been slow to start, gather pace
as the enormity of the disaster begins to be appreciated
German relief workers prepare
to depart for Sri Lanka
French relief workers from
the Medecins Sans
Frontieres organisation
Haiti Earthquake 2010
 The January 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake occurred in the
boundary region separating the Caribbean plate and the
North America plate.
 It had a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter Scale
 This Earthquake resulted in severe damage and casualties in
the Port-au-Prince area.
 Over 220,000 people were lost and 3.5 MILLION were
affected.
Haiti's presidential palace before (top) and after
the earthquake Photo: AFP/GETTY
2011 March 11 –Tohoku Japan
 Earthquake (9.0 magnitude) was recorded in East Asia, in the
Pacific Ocean.
 Recorded near the east coast of Honshu, Japan
 129 km away from Sendai, Japan
 177km away from Fukushima and Yamagata
 373 km away from Tokyo
 Depth of only 32km
 The tsunami was created by the earthquake
 a huge wave (14 m) created
 hit the coast of Honshu and flooded Japan
Minamisanriku town, Miyagi Prefecture before the tsunami (2001).
Source: Sankei Shimbunsha (2011: 31); see also SankeiPhoto (2011).
Reproduced by kind permission of Sankei Books.
Minamisanriku town, Miyagi Prefecture after the tsunami (27 March 2011).
Source: Sankei Shimbunsha (2011: 31); see also SankeiPhoto (2011).
Reproduced by kind permission of Sankei Books.
The Unosumai district of Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture before the tsunami (2007).
Source: Sankei Shimbunsha (2011, p. 31); see also SankeiPhoto (2011).
Reproduced by kind permission of Sankei Books.
The Unosumai district of Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture after the tsunami (29 March 2011).
Source: Sankei Shimbunsha (2011, p. 31); see also SankeiPhoto (2011).
Reproduced by kind permission of Sankei Books.
• At least 15,703 people killed, 4,647 missing, 5,314
injured.
• How? Why so few in comparison?