Earthquakes are caused by movements within the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. They range from weak events detectable only by seismometers, to sudden and violent events lasting many minutes which have caused some of the biggest disasters in human history. Below, there are earthquakes listed by period, region or country, year, magnitude, cost, fatalities, and number of scientific studies.

Deadliest earthquakes

The following is a summary list of earthquakes with over approximately 100,000 deaths. The 893 Ardabil earthquake is most likely the same as the 893 Dvin earthquake, due to misreading of the Arabic word for Dvin, "Dabil" as "Ardabil".

Event Date Location Notes on fatalities 1976 Tangshan earthquake Hebei, China 300,000+ 7.6 Internal Tangshan reports found 263,299 local deaths. Official nationwide deaths stated to be 242,769. Scholars estimated >300,000. Reprinted as: 1920 Haiyuan earthquake Ningxia–Gansu, China 273,400 7.8 Previously cited death toll was 230,000 and this figure was revised in 2010. 526 Antioch earthquake Antioch, Byzantine Empire (modern-day ) 250,000 7.0 Procopius (II.14.6), sources based on John of Ephesus. 1139 Ganja earthquake Ganja, Seljuk Empire (modern-day Azerbaijan) 230,000–300,000 7.0 Death toll may have been a historical conflation with earthquakes on November 1137 in the Jazira plain and the 1138 Aleppo earthquake. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Sumatra, Indonesia 227,898 9.2 Death toll includes those missing and presumed dead. 1303 Hongdong earthquake Shanxi, Yuan dynasty (modern-day China) 200,000 8.0 856 Damghan earthquake Damghan, Abbasid Caliphate (modern-day Iran) 200,000 7.9 Ms 1138 Aleppo earthquake Aleppo, Seljuk Empire (modern-day Syria) 130,000–230,000 7.1 The figure of 230,000 dead is based on a historical conflation of this earthquake with earthquakes in November 1137 on the Jazira plain and the 1139 Ganja earthquake in the Azerbaijani city of Ganja. The first mention of a 230,000 death toll was by Ibn Taghribirdi in the fifteenth century.Ambraseys, Nicholas N., "The 12th century seismic paroxysm in the Middle East: a historical perspective" (PDF), Annals of Geophysics, Vol. 47, N. 2/3, April/June 2004, p. 743. 533 Aleppo earthquake Aleppo, Byzantine Empire (modern-day Syria) 130,000 Unknown 1908 Messina earthquake Messina, Kingdom of Italy 120,000"Le Mani su Messina". Dario De Pasquale.2006.Sikelia 7.1 The epicentre was in the Strait of Messina which separates Sicily from the Italian mainland, affecting also the city of Reggio Calabria. 1948 Ashgabat earthquake Ashgabat, Turkmen SSR (modern-day ) 110,000 7.3 Previously cited death toll was 10,000 until a news release on December 9, 1988, advised that the correct death toll was 110,000. 1923 Great Kantō earthquake Kantō region, Japan 105,385 7.9 Casualty estimates range from 100,000 to 142,800, the latter figure including 40,000 missing later presumed dead. 1556 Shaanxi earthquake Shaanxi, modern-day China 100,000 8.0 Direct deaths thought to be just over 100,000 while about 730,000 people died from famines or migrated elsewhere.颤抖的地球—地震科学 (2005). Researched by China Earthquake Administration seismologists 冯万鹏,薑文亮,龚丽霞,公茂盛,胡进军; Revised by CEA seismologists 王文清,续春荣,张宝红; Edited by CEA chiefs 谢礼立,张景发. Tsinghua University Press. Pages XIII, 162. "1556年陕西华县8级大地震，死亡的83万人中, 据估计死于瘟疫者不下七八成" [Among the 830,000 died, it is estimated that no less than 70% or 80% died from plagues] 2010 Haiti earthquake Haiti 46,000–316,000 7.0 Estimates vary from 316,000 (Haitian government) to 222,570 (UN OCHA estimate)Haiti Dominates Earthquake Fatalities in 2010 (January 11, 2011), U.S. Geological Survey. to 158,000 (Medicine, Conflict and Survival) to between 46,000 and 85,000 (report commissioned by USAID).Maura R. O'Connor, [Two Years Later, Haitian Earthquake Death Toll in Dispute], Columbia Journalism Review (January 12, 2012).Report challenges Haiti earthquake death toll (June 1, 2011), BBC. 1290 Zhili earthquake Ningcheng, Yuan dynasty (modern-day China)7,000–100,000 6.8 Estimates also suggests lower values of at least 7,000.

Deadliest earthquakes by year since 1920 Date Location Depth (km) MMI Deaths Notes December 16, 1920 7.9 , Ningxia 15.0 XII 258,707–273,407 November 11, 1922 8.3–8.6 , Atacama 35.0 XI 1,000 September 1, 1923 7.9–8.2 , Kanagawa Prefecture 23.0 XI 105,385 November 12, 1924 , Dutch East Indies IX 727 March 16, 1925 6.9–7.0 , Yunnan 26.0 IX 5,000 October 22, 1926 6.0 , Kars Province 7.0 IX 360 May 22, 1927 7.7 , Gansu 15.0 XI 40,912 December 1, 1928 7.6 , Maule Region 20.0 IX 279 May 1, 1929 7.2 , Ahal Region 10.0 IX 3,257–3,800 July 23, 1930 6.6 , Irpinia 15.0 X 1,404 August 10, 1931 8.0 , Xinjiang Province 20.0 XI 10,000 May 20, 1932 5.4 , Mazandaran province 12.0 VIII 1,070 August 25, 1933 7.3 , Sichuan Province 15.0 X 6,865–9,300 January 15, 1934 8.0 , Koshi 15.0 X 10,700–12,000 May 30, 1935 7.7 , Khanate of Kalat 15.0 X 30,000–60,000 April 1, 1936 6.8 , Guangxi Province 7.0 IX 1,001 July 31, 1937 6.9 , Shandong Province 25.0 IX 3,252 April 19, 1938 6.6 , Kırşehir Province 10.0 IX 224 December 26, 1939 7.8 , Erzincan Province 20.0 XII 32,700–32,968 November 10, 1940 7.7 , Vrancea County 133.0 X 1,000 January 11, 1941 5.8–6.5 , Razih District 35.0 VIII 1,200 December 20, 1942 7.0 , Erbaa 10.0 IX 3,000 November 26, 1943 7.5 , Çankırı 20.0 XI 2,824–5,000 January 15, 1944 7.0 , San Juan 15.0 IX 10,000 November 27, 1945 8.1 , Makran Coast 15.0 X 300–4,000 August 4, 1946 7.8 , Samaná 15.0 IX 2,550 November 1, 1947 7.7 , Junín Province 20.0 IX 233–2,233 October 5, 1948 7.3 , Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic 15.0 X 10,000–110,000 July 10, 1949 7.5 , Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic 18.0 IX 7,200 August 15, 1950 8.6 , Assam 15.0 XI 4,800 May 6, 1951 5.9–6.2 , Usulután 85.0 VIII 400–1,100 November 4, 1952 9.0 , Russian Soviet Socialist Republic 21.6 XI 2,336 March 18, 1953 7.5 , Balıkesir Province 10.0 IX 1,070 September 9, 1954 6.7 , Chlef Province, Algeria 15.0 XI 1,243–1,409 March 31, 1955 7.4 , Western Mindanao 35.0 VIII 465 October 31, 1956 6.4 , Hormozgan 15.0 VII 347 December 13, 1957 6.5 , Hamadan 15.0 VII 1,130 August 16, 1958 6.7 , Lorestan 15.0 VII 132 August 18, 1959 7.3 , Montana 5.0 X 28 February 29, 1960 5.8 , Souss-Massa 15.0 X 12,000–15,000 June 11, 1961 6.4 , Fars province 15.0 VIII 60 September 1, 1962 7.1 , Qazvin province 10.0 IX 12,225 July 26, 1963 6.1 , Macedonia 15.0 X 1,070 March 28, 1964 9.2–9.3 , Alaska 25.0 XI 131 March 28, 1965 7.4–7.6 , Valparaíso Region 70.0 IX 400–500 March 22, 1966 6.8 , Hebei 20.0 IX 8,064 July 30, 1967 6.6 , Vargas 25.0 VIII 225–300 August 31, 1968 7.1 , South Khorasan province 10.0 X 15,900 July 25, 1969 6.4 , Guangdong 20.0 VIII 3,000 May 31, 1970 7.9 , Ancash 45.0 VIII 66,794–70,000 May 22, 1971 6.6 , Bingöl 10.0 VIII 875 April 10, 1972 6.7 , Fars 10.0 IX 5,374 February 6, 1973 7.6 , Sichuan 11.0 X 2,175–2,204 May 10, 1974 7.1 , Yunnan 14.0 IX 1,641–20,000 September 6, 1975 6.7 , Diyarbakır 26.0 IX 2,311 July 27, 1976 7.6 , Hebei 12.2 XI 242,469 March 4, 1977 7.5 , Vrancea 85.3 IX 1,700 September 16, 1978 7.4 , Yazd 33.0 IX 15,000–25,000 December 12, 1979 8.2 , Nariño 33.0 IX 300–600 October 10, 1980 7.1 , Chlef 10.0 X 2,633–5,000 June 11, 1981 6.6 , Kerman 33.0 VIII 3,000 December 13, 1982 6.2 , Dhamar 10.0 VIII 2,800 October 30, 1983 6.6 , Erzurum 15.0 IX 1,340 September 13, 1984 6.3 , Nagano 2.0 VIII 14 September 19, 1985 8.0 , Michoacán 20.0 IX 5,000–45,000 October 10, 1986 5.7 , San Salvador 10.0 IX 1,000–1,500 March 6, 1987 7.1 , Sucumbíos 10.0 IX 1,000–5,000 December 7, 1988 6.8 , Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic 5.0 X 25,000–50,000 January 22, 1989 5.3 , Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic 33.0 VII 274 June 20, 1990 7.4 , Gilan 18.5 X 35,000–40,000 October 19, 1991 6.8 , Uttarkashi 11.6 IX 768–2,000 December 12, 1992 7.8 , Flores Sea offshore 27.7 VIII 2,500 September 29, 1993 6.2 , Latur 10.0 VIII 9,748 June 6, 1994 6.8 , Cauca 12.1 IX 1,100 January 16, 1995 6.9 , Kobe 21.9 XI 5,502–6,434 February 3, 1996 6.6 , Yunnan 10.0 X 309–322 May 10, 1997 7.3 , Khorasan 10.0 X 1,567 May 30, 1998 6.5 , Takhar 33.0 VII 4,000–4,500 July 17, 1998 7.0 , Sandaun Province 30.0 VIII 2,183–2,700 January 25, 1999 6.2 , Armenia 17.0 X1 185 August 17, 1999 7.6 , İzmit 17.0 X 17,127–18,373 June 4, 2000 7.9 , Enggano Island offshore 44.0 VI 103 January 26, 2001 7.6 , Bhuj 16.0 X 13,805–20,023 March 25, 2002 6.1 , Baghlan Province 8.0 VII 1,200 December 26, 2003 6.6 , Bam 15.0 IX 34,000 December 26, 2004 9.2–9.3 , Sumatra offshore 30.0 IX 227,898 March 28, 2005 8.6–8.7 , Sumatra offshore 30.0 VIII 1,638–1,738 October 8, 2005 7.6 , Balakot 15.0 XI 86,000–87,351 May 26, 2006 6.4 , Yogyakarta 10.0 IX 5,749 August 15, 2007 8.0 , Ica offshore 39.0 IX 595 May 12, 2008 7.9 , Sichuan 19.0 XI 87,587 September 30, 2009 7.6 , Padang offshore 90.0 VII 1,115 January 12, 2010 7.0 , Léogâne 13.0 X 46,000–160,000 March 11, 2011 9.1 , Sendai offshore 29.0 XI 19,759 The following tsunami led to about 18,500 deaths. August 11, 2012 6.4 , East Azerbaijan 9.0 VIII 306 September 24, 2013 7.7 , Balochistan 15.0 IX 825 August 3, 2014 6.1 , Yunnan 10.0 IX 617 April 25, 2015 7.8 , Gorkha District 8.2 X 8,962 April 16, 2016 7.8 , Esmeraldas 20.6 VIII 676 November 12, 2017 7.3 Iran–Iraq border Region 19.0 IX 630 September 28, 2018 7.5 , Palu 20.0 X 4,340 November 26, 2019 6.4 , Durrës 10.0 VIII 51 October 30, 2020 7.0 Aegean Sea 21.0 VIII 119 August 14, 2021 7.2 , Nippes 10.0 IX 2,248 June 21, 2022 6.0 , Khost 10.0 VIII 1,052–1,163 February 6, 2023 7.8 & 7.7 , Southeastern Anatolia Syria, Aleppo and Idlib 10.0 & 7.4 XII 59,488–62,013 These were two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.8 and 7.7. January 1, 2024 7.5 , Ishikawa 10.0 X 645 March 28, 2025 7.7 , Sagaing Region 10.0 X 5,456 June 24, 2026 7.2 & 7.5 , Yaracuy 21.3 & 10.0 IX 6,509–50,000 Two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5.

Strongest earthquakes by magnitude

For those which occurred before the development and deployment of seismographs – starting around 1900 – magnitudes are estimated from historical reports of the extent and severity of damage., pp. 140, 142 et seq.

Rank Date Location Event Magnitude1 Valdivia, Chile 1960 Valdivia earthquake 9.4–9.62 Prince William Sound, Alaska, United States 1964 Alaska earthquake 9.2–9.3 Sumatra, Indonesia 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake 9.2–9.34 Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 2011 Tōhoku earthquake 9.0–9.15 Kamchatka, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union 1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake 8.8–9.06 Maule, Chile 2010 Chile earthquake 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia 2025 Kamchatka earthquake 8.8 Esmeraldas, Ecuador – Colombia 1906 Ecuador–Colombia earthquake 8.5–8.89 Rat Islands, Alaska, United States 1965 Rat Islands earthquake 8.7 Assam, India – Tibet, China 1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake 8.711 Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake 8.6 Andreanof Islands, Alaska, United States 1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake 8.6 Sumatra, Indonesia 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake 8.6 Sumatra, Indonesia 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes 8.615 Atacama, Chile 1922 Vallenar earthquake 8.3–8.6 Banda Sea, Indonesia (then part of the Dutch East Indies) 1938 Banda Sea earthquake 8.5–8.617 Iwate Prefecture, Japan 1933 Sanriku earthquake 8.4–8.5 Kuril Islands, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union 1963 Kuril Islands earthquake 8.5 Bengkulu Province, Indonesia 2007 Bengkulu earthquakes 8.4–8.5

Pre-instrumental earthquakes