Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
North Sea
Alaska
Lituya Bay
Kamchatka
Peninsula
Aleutian Islands
English Channel
Montreal
Quebec City
Newfoundland
St. Lawrence R.
Tangshan
Great Lakes
Seattle
Salt Lake City
Crescent City
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Bejing
Kansu
Izmit
Gulf of Chihli
Shensi
Boston
Sanriku
Santorini
Lisbon
Niigata
Iran
Cadiz
Naples
Tokyo
San Diego
Catania
Messina
Kobe
Okinawa
Chicxulub
Honolulu
Port Royal
Hilo
Calcutta
Antigua
Rann of
Kachchh
Mexico City
Panama
Philippines
Barbados
Mindanao
Tahiti
Krakatau
Tambora
Papua New
Guinea
Arica
Newcastle
Chile
Perth
Pitcairn Is.
Valparaiso
Cape of Good Hope
Gisborne
Lake Taupo
Tasmania
New Zealand
Balleny Islands
Location map.
Fig. 10.3
100 000 lives. The Shensi event in China on
23 January 1556 claimed 830 000 lives. That earth-
quake struck loess country, and caused the collapse of
thousands of human-made caves dug into cliffs and
used as homes. Another earthquake at Kansu, China,
in 1920 killed 200 000 people. The Calcutta earth-
quake of 11 October 1737 wiped out half the city,
killing 300 000 people. In 1923, the Tokyo earthquake
- which is discussed below in more detail - killed
143 000 inhabitants. Italy has been struck many times
Major historical earthquakes, by death toll (United States Geological Survey, 2002)
Table 10.1
Date
Location
Death toll
M
s
Magnitude (if known)
23 January 1556
Shensi, China
830 000
11 October 1737
Calcutta, India
300 000
27 July 1976
Tangshan, China
255 000
8
9 August 1138
Aleppo, Syria
230 000
22 May 1927
Xining, China
200 000
8.3
22 December 856
Damghan, Iran
200 000
16 December 1920
Kansu, China
200 000
8.6
1 September 1923
Tokyo, Japan
143 000
8.3
September 1290
Chihli, China
100 000
November 1667
Shemakha, Caucasia
80 000
18 November 1727
Tabriz, Iran
77 000
28 December 1908
Messina, Italy
70 000
7.5
1 November 1755
Lisbon, Portugal
70 000
8.7
25 December 1932
Kansu, China
70 000
7.6
31 May 1970
Peru
66 000
7.8
21 June 1903
Silicia, Asia Minor
60 000
11 January 1693
Sicily, Italy
60 000
23 March 893
Ardabil, Iran
50 000
4 February 1783
Calabria, Italy
50 000
20 June 1990
Iran
50 000
7.7
30 May 1935
Quetta, Pakistan
30 000
7.5
