The largest earthquake in the entire era of life. west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Earthquakes in Severo-Kurilsk

Every year, more and more people on the planet turn their attention to natural disasters of various kinds. According to research in recent years, the Earth has entered an active phase of tectonic activity - it is well known that throughout its existence, the land topography and the outlines of the continents as a whole have repeatedly undergone various changes. If we take into account the contents of Plato's manuscripts, such semi-mythical great civilizations as Atlantis and Hyperborea disappeared from the face of the earth as a result of the tectonic activity of our planet. For this reason, many of our contemporaries are seriously thinking about in which direction they should develop. human civilization, so that we do not suffer the same sad fate. Perhaps we should finally understand that the Earth is a kind of gigantic living organism, any interference in the work of which can end very sadly for our world. The bowels of the planet should be used more carefully and economically by people for their own purposes. In this article we will look at the most destructive earthquakes in human history.

1. In the mid-16th century, in the city of Shenxi (China), the most destructive earthquake to date occurred, killing more than 800 thousand people!

2. In 1923, on the first day of autumn, the Japanese region of Southern Kanto felt the full force and power of tremors, which, according to individual assessments was about 12 points. In this region there are megacities such as Yokohama and Tokyo. More than 150 thousand people became victims of the disaster.

3. August 15, 1950 year, the most powerful earthquake was recorded in the Indian city of Assami (India), which claimed the lives of “only” 1000 people - the fact is that it was impossible to measure its strength on the Richter scale due to the excessive scale of the instrument’s needles. A short time later, seismologists officially attributed the element to 9 points on the Richter scale. However, it was so powerful that it even caused a certain panic among scientists - some of them initially believed that the epicenter of the vibration earth's crust, was located on the territory of Japan, while others believed that it was on the territory of the United States.

As for the Indian state of Assam, the situation here was also very ambiguous - for a week in a row, powerful tremors shook the surface of the earth, every now and then forming faults and failures, swallowing entire villages along with their inhabitants without a trace. All this was accompanied by constant emissions of fountains of hot steam and superheated liquid into the sky. As a result of the damage received, many dams could not contain the pressure of the water reserves stored in them - many cities and villages were simply flooded. Fleeing from certain death, residents climbed to the tops of trees, because not everyone knew the main ones. It should be noted that this year it was many times greater than the scale of destruction that was the result of the second most powerful earthquake that took place in these parts in 1897. The victims of the earlier disaster were 1,542 people.

4. 05/22/1960– on the outskirts of the Chilean city of Valdivia in the afternoon, the most powerful officially recorded earthquake occurred. The strength of the tremors of the Great Chilean Earthquake - this is the name given to this natural disaster - was approximately 9.3-9.5 points.

5. March 27, 1964 - in the American part of the Alaska Peninsula, closer to six o’clock local time, something happened that the locals could not even imagine. The force of the tremors was 9.2 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the disaster was at a depth of 20 kilometers in the northern part of the Gulf of Alaska. According to many scientists, it was this that caused the shift in the axis of rotation of our planet - as a result, its speed increased by 3 microseconds. The Great Chilean and Alaskan disasters are officially considered the most destructive and catastrophic in the history of mankind.

6. The earthquake that took place on July 28, 1976 late at night in the northeastern regions of China is considered the most destructive and terrible in terms of human casualties. Almost instantly, 650 thousand people became its victims - more than 780 thousand were injured and of varying degrees of severity. The strength of the shocks ranged from 7.9 to 8.2 points. The destruction was colossal. The epicenter of the disaster was located directly in Tangshan, a city with a population of millions. After several months, a huge space of ruins with a total area of ​​20 square kilometers remained on the site of the once flourishing, never-silent city.
According to eyewitnesses, shortly before the first wobble, the skies parted for many kilometers and began to shine bright light. At the end of the first blows, the plants and trees visually looked as if they had felt the effects of a steam roller. Some bushes were even burnt on some sides.

7. 7.12.1988— powerful tremors occurred on the territory of Armenia, the victims of which, according to the most conservative estimates, were 45 thousand people. Overnight, the city of Spitak, located near the epicenter, turned into a vast pile of ruins. Neighboring settlements– Kirovakan and Leninakan were half destroyed. According to some calculations, the force of the shocks was almost 10 points on the Richter scale!

8. December 26, 2004- in the northwestern region of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, which is Indian Ocean, like a bolt from the blue, earthquakes with a magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3 on the Richter scale arose. This disaster and the accompanying giant tsunami claimed the lives of more than 300 thousand people.

9. May 12-13, 2008– in the Chinese province of Sichuan, an earthquake with a power of 7.9 occurred, killing more than 70 thousand people.

10. March 11, 2011 One of the most powerful earthquakes of recent years occurred in Japan - its strength was estimated at 9 points on the Richter scale. The devastating consequences and the accompanying gigantic tsunami became the direct cause of a serious environmental disaster: the cooling systems were damaged nuclear power plant— the world was on the verge of radioactive contamination environment, which, to the deepest, could not be avoided. Albeit on a smaller scale, radiation leakage still occurred.

The power of tremors is estimated by the amplitude of oscillations of the earth's crust from 1 to 10 points. Areas in mountainous areas are considered the most earthquake-prone. We present to you the most powerful earthquakes in history.

The worst earthquakes in history

A large number of casualties are related not so much to the strength of the tremors, but to their duration. Modern researchers can judge the consequences of the destruction of the earthquake in the 2nd century only from the surviving chronicles, according to which the cities of Catania, Messina and Ragusa in Sicily were practically destroyed, and the coastal cities of Akratiri and Paralimni in Cyprus were also covered by a strong wave.

Earthquake on the island of Haiti

Despite the fact that the earthquake occurred in 2010, the people of Haiti are still in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as on our own rebuilding settlements. This is the second powerful earthquake in Haiti, the first occurred in 1751 - then the cities had to be rebuilt over the next 15 years.

Earthquake in China

Within 6 months after the main earthquake, so-called aftershocks were repeatedly felt - repeated seismic tremors with a power of 1-2 points. This disaster occurred during the reign of Emperor Jiajing, so in Chinese history it is called the Great Jiajing Earthquake.

The most powerful earthquakes in Russia

Earthquake on Sakhalin

The most significant consequences were felt in Neftegorsk, which was 30 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake. Within 17 seconds, almost all houses were destroyed. The damage caused amounted to 2 trillion rubles, and the authorities decided not to restore the settlements, so this city is no longer indicated on the map of Russia.

More than 1,500 rescuers were involved in eliminating the consequences. 2,040 people died under the rubble. A chapel was built and a memorial was erected on the site of Neftegorsk.

Earthquake in Japan

Tremors in Pacific Ocean caused a powerful tsunami, the height of the waves was 10 meters. As a result of the collapse of a large flow of water on the coast of Japan, a radiation accident occurred at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. Subsequently, for several months, residents of nearby areas were prohibited from drinking tap water due to its high cesium content.

In addition, the Japanese government ordered TEPCO, which owns the nuclear power plant, to compensate moral damage 80 thousand residents forced to leave areas of infection.

The most powerful earthquake in the world

The strongest tremors were felt in the state of Assam, which was reduced to ruins as a result of the earthquake - more than two thousand houses were destroyed and more than six thousand people were killed. total area The territories caught in the destruction zone amounted to 390 thousand square kilometers.

According to the site, earthquakes also often occur in volcanically active areas. We present to you an article about the highest volcanoes in the world.
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As earthquake statistics show, seismological disasters account for 13% of total number natural Over the past hundred years, about 2,000 tremors with a magnitude of 7 or more have occurred in the world. Of these, 65 cases exceeded the 8 mark.

World situation

If you look at a world map on which seismological activity is displayed as dots, you will notice one pattern. These are some characteristic lines along which tremors are intensely recorded. The tectonic boundaries of the earth's crust are located in these zones. Statistics have established that strong catastrophic earthquakes, which entail the most destructive consequences, occur due to tension in the source of “rubbing in” of tectonic plates.

Earthquake statistics over 100 years show that about a hundred seismic disasters occurred on continental tectonic plates (not oceanic) alone, in which 1.4 million people died. A total of 130 strong earthquakes were recorded during this period.

The table shows the largest known seismic disasters since the 16th century:

Over the 30 years of the end of the 20th century, about 1 million people died in seismic disasters. This is approximately 33 thousand per year. Over the past 10 years, earthquake statistics show an increase in the average annual figure to 45 thousand victims.
Every day, hundreds of imperceptible vibrations of the earth's surface occur on the planet. This is not always associated with the movement of the earth's crust. Human actions: construction, mining, blasting - all of them entail vibrations that are recorded by modern seismographs every second. However, since 2009, the USGS geological service, which collects data on earthquake statistics in the world, has stopped taking into account tremors below 4.5 points.

Crete

The island is located in a tectonic fault zone, so increased seismological activity there is a frequent occurrence. According to statistics, earthquakes in Crete do not exceed 5 points. With such force, there are no destructive consequences, and local residents do not pay any attention to this shaking. On the graph you can see the number of registered seismic shocks by month with a magnitude greater than 1 point. You can see what last years their intensity increased slightly.

Earthquakes in Italy

The country is in the zone seismic activity on the territory of the same tectonic fault as Greece. Earthquake statistics in Italy over the past 5 years show an increase in the number of monthly tremors from 700 to 2000. In August 2016, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 occurred. That day claimed the lives of 295 people and injured more than 400.

In January 2017, another earthquake with a magnitude of less than 6 occurred in Italy; there were almost no casualties from the destruction. However, the shock was caused in the province of Pescara. The Rigopiano Hotel was buried under it, killing 30 people.

There are resources that display earthquake statistics online. For example, the IRIS organization (USA), which collects, systematizes, studies and distributes seismological data, presents a monitor of this type:
The website contains information showing the presence of earthquakes on the planet in this moment. Here their magnitude is shown, there is information for yesterday, as well as events from 2 weeks or 5 years ago. You can take a closer look at the areas of the planet you are interested in by selecting the appropriate map from the list.

The situation in Russia

According to earthquake statistics in Russia and the OSR (General Seismic Zoning) map, more than 26% of the country's area is located in seismically hazardous zones. Tremors of magnitude 7 may occur here. This includes Kamchatka, the Baikal region, the Kuril Islands, Altai, the North Caucasus and the Sayan Mountains. There are about 3,000 villages, about 100 thermal power plants and hydroelectric power stations, 5 nuclear power plants and enterprises of increased environmental hazard.

Krasnodar region

The zone contains about 28 districts of the region, with a population of approximately 4 million people. Among them is the large resort city of Sochi - according to earthquake statistics, the last seismic activity above 4 points was registered in the fall of 2016. Kuban for the most part located in the zone of magnitude 8–10 earthquakes (MSK-64 scale). This is the highest seismic hazard index throughout the Russian Federation.

The reason is the resumption of tectonic processes in 1980. Earthquake statistics in Krasnodar region annually records about 250 seismic shocks of more than 2 points. Since 1973, 130 of them have been force 4 or higher. Tremors with a magnitude greater than 6 are recorded once every 5 years, and above 7 - once every 11 years.

Irkutsk

Due to its location near the Baikal Rift, earthquake statistics for Irkutsk record up to 40 minor tremors every month. In August 2008, seismic activity with a magnitude of 6.2 was recorded. The epicenter was in Lake Baikal, where the indicator reached 7 points. Some buildings were cracked, but no significant damage or casualties were recorded. In February 2016, another earthquake of magnitude 5.5 occurred.

Ekaterinburg

Despite the fact that growth Ural mountains has long ceased, earthquake statistics in Yekaterinburg continue to be updated with new data. In 2015, an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 was recorded there, but there were no casualties.

Conclusion

Between the end of 2008 and 2011, there was a decrease in seismic activity on the planet, to a level of less than 2,500 events per month and a magnitude above 4.5. However, after the earthquake in Japan in 2011, between 2011 and 2016 there was a tendency for earthquake activity around the world to almost double. The earthquake statistics for recent years are as follows:

• tremors from 8 points and above – 1 time/year;
• from 7 to 7.9 points – 17 times/year;
• from 6 to 6.9 – 134 times/year;
• from 5 to 5.9 – 1319 times/year.

Predicting earthquakes is very difficult. It is often possible to say with certainty where it will happen, but when exactly it will happen is impossible to determine. However, there are biological precursors. On the eve of a strong earthquake, other representatives of the fauna living in this territory begin to behave abnormally.

WITH most famous strong earthquake in the history of mankind, which claimed the greatest number of lives occurred in Shaanxi and Henan in China. Estimated to have died on 2 February 1556 830 thousand people. In history 20th and 21st centuries a colossal number of vibrations in the earth's crust have been recorded enormous power which resulted in numerous casualties. According to experts, the number major earthquakes is growing every year. Also, almost 150 are recorded annually earthquakes small magnitude. Observers attribute this to the approach mysterious planet Nibiru.

We bring to your attention the most strong and large earthquakes that happened on our planet in the 20th and 21st centuries, each of which resulted in a huge number of deaths, piles of destroyed buildings and homes, and a record number of people left homeless. Position in the ranking of described earthquakes very conditional.

† In terms of the number of victims, it is considered one of the most large 20th and 21st centuries Tien Shan earthquake July 28, 1976 with magnitude 7.9. Death toll reaches 750,000.

† In 1950, in the state of Assam (India), so much happened strong earthquake that all the seismographs went off scale. Its magnitude was 9 on the Richter scale.

† February 4, 1976 due to the appearance of a crack in the Motagua fault in Guatemala over 1 million inhabitants left homeless in an instant.

† Most major earthquake in the 20th century according to the scale of the Japanese seismologist Kanamori, it was observed on May 22, 1960 in Chile. Then at least 10 thousand people. Were destroyed big cities- Concepcion, which existed for more than 400 years, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, Osorno and others. Suffered from the rampant disaster Pacific Coast for more than 1000 km. Coastal strip with an area of ​​10 thousand square meters. km sank below ocean level and was covered by a two-meter layer of water. 14 volcanoes have awakened. A series of subsequent aftershocks killed 5,700 people and left another 100,000 homeless. The damage caused was estimated at $400 million, and 20% of the country's industrial complex was destroyed. In 7 days (May 21-30), almost the entire Chilean countryside was reduced to ruins. The monstrous destruction on the coast was complemented by a gigantic tsunami. In particular, the port of Ankund, the capital of the island of Chiloe, was washed away. And on Easter Island, a 10-meter wave scattered, like grains of sand, multi-ton (up to 80 tons) stones of an ancient ritual structure - ahu Tongariki.

† Trouble came to the city of Verny (today Alma-Ata) on the eve of the New Year 1911. The area of ​​complete destruction (9-11 points) covered the territory with an area of ​​15 thousand square meters. km. Mountain ranges and valleys were cut by faults up to 200 km long. The strip of the greatest disturbances of the earth's surface (500 m wide and 100 km long) was recorded on the southern coast of Issyk-Kul. Millions of tons of soil have shifted.

†Greatest seismic disaster 20th century occurred on August 15, 1950 in the highlands of Tibet. The energy was approximately equal to the force of the explosion 100 thousand atomic bombs . Total weight The moved rocks amounted to about 2 billion tons. Eyewitness accounts were terrifying. A deafening roar erupted from the bowels of the earth. In Calcutta, more than 1,000 km away, underground vibrations caused bouts of seasickness among residents. Cars were thrown back 800 m, a section of the railway track 300 m long was lowered by almost 5 m, and the road was completely destroyed.

† Strong 11-12 points earthquake erupted on December 4, 1957 in southern Mongolia. It started around noon with a strong jolt. Residents managed to run out of the premises, and when the subsequent main blow wiped out the buildings, almost no one was left in them. Huge dark clouds of dust rose above the mountains, initially hiding the peaks. The dust spread quickly, covering the entire 230 km long mountain range. Visibility did not exceed 100 m. The air cleared only after two days. Soil vibrations were observed over an area of ​​5 million square meters. km.

† On August 31, 2012, an explosion occurred in the central part of the Philippine archipelago. major earthquake magnitude 7.6, which led to significant destruction of roads and bridges. Residents of the island of Samar hastened to take refuge on high ground, fearing a possible tsunami. The epicenter of the earthquake was 146 km from the island. The source of the tremors lay at a depth of 32 km. Fortunately, strong earthquake did not trigger a tsunami.

†March 11, 2011 in Strana rising sun happened more than 20 major earthquakes of the 21st century, the strongest with a magnitude of up to 8.9 on the Richter scale. In Tokyo, buildings swayed and a major highway collapsed. A 10 m high tsunami reached the island of Honshu, and a six meter high tsunami hit the island of Hokkaido. In Miyagi Prefecture, water washed away not only boats, houses and cars, but also tanks from a military factory. The nuclear power plant stopped operating. Authorities have decided to close Narita International Airport in Tokyo. The cataclysm led to a displacement of the Earth's rotation axis by almost ten centimeters... The official death toll in 12 prefectures of Japan is 15,870 people, 2846 people are missing in 6 prefectures, 6110 injured in 20 prefectures. 3,400 houses were completely or partially destroyed. The city of Rikuzentakata, located in the northeastern Iwate Prefecture, was almost completely submerged under water. Strong explosion occurred at the oil storage facility of the oil company Cosmo Oil in the city of Likihara, in the suburbs of Tokyo. Explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power plant led to a radiation leak... A ghost loomed over the world again nuclear death, and the suburbs of Tokyo could well become one of.

† Late August 2012 episode earthquakes deprived the residents of the small town of Brawley in California. Here 400 happened in 4 days weak and moderate tremors. Nature reminded us that we need to be prepared for anything, because this is an earthquake-prone area.

We talked about the most dangerous natural disasters 20th and 21st centuries - earthquakes, the force and consequences of which could well lead to unprecedented global catastrophe Earth. The threat of global disaster is real. The same elements that created our fragile planet can destroy it. The earth is not ready for strong, large earthquakes magnitude 10 or more.

On January 11, 1693, the Sicilian earthquake occurred during the eruption of Mount Etna. It literally turned several cities in southern Italy, Sicily and Malta into dust, and the rubble of buildings became the grave of 100 thousand people. RG recalls the deadliest earthquakes.

Chinese earthquake - 830 thousand victims

This earthquake, which occurred in 1556, is also called the Great China. It was truly catastrophic. Its magnitude, according to today's estimates, reached 11 points. The epicenter of the disaster was in the valley of the Wei River in Shaanxi province, near the cities of Huaxian, Weinan and Huanin. All three cities were reduced to a pile of rubble in less than 8 minutes.

At the epicenter of the earthquake, 20-meter gaps and cracks opened. The destruction affected areas 500 kilometers away from the epicenter. The large number of victims was due to the fact that the vast majority of the population of the province lived in limestone caves, which either collapsed after the first tremors or were flooded by mudflows.

Chinese historical records contain the following data about the earthquake: “Mountains and rivers changed their location, roads were destroyed. In some places the ground suddenly rose and new hills appeared, or vice versa - parts of the former hills went underground, floated and became new plains. In in other places there were constant mudflows, or the ground was splitting and new ravines appeared.”

Tangshan earthquake - 800 thousand victims

The earthquake in the Chinese city of Tangshan is recognized by experts as the largest natural disaster of the 20th century. In the early morning of July 28, 1976, at a depth of 22 kilometers, an 8.2 magnitude shock occurred, which killed from 240 to 800 thousand people in a matter of minutes. Subsequent tremors with a magnitude of 7 completely destroyed 6 million residential buildings.

The Chinese government still refuses to give exact numbers of human casualties, because more than half a million people are still missing.

The Tangshan tragedy formed the basis feature film"Earthquake", which is one of the most expensive in the history of cinema of the Republic.

Indian Ocean earthquake - 227,898 victims

Let's dilute our peculiar "rating" with an underwater earthquake. It occurred in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004, and the tsunami that followed, according to various estimates, killed up to 300 thousand people. The exact number of victims is still unknown - ocean waves washed away thousands of people from the coastal area. The dead were found even in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 6,900 km from the epicenter.

The energy released by the earthquake is estimated to be approximately 2 exajoules. This energy would be enough to boil 150 liters of water for every inhabitant of the Earth, or the same amount of energy that humanity uses in 2 years. The Earth's surface oscillated within 20-30 centimeters, which is equivalent to tidal forces acting from the Sun and Moon. The shock wave passed through the entire planet: vertical vibrations of 3 millimeters were recorded in the American state of Oklahoma.

The earthquake shortened the length of the day by about 2.68 microseconds, that is, by about one-billionth, due to the decrease in the oblateness of the Earth.

Earthquake in Haiti - 222,570 victims

The earthquake occurred on January 12, 2010 in the immediate vicinity of the capital of the Republic - Port-au-Prince. The force of the shock, according to various estimates, did not exceed 7 points, but the extreme population density in this area led to colossal casualties.

Immediately after the main shock, aftershocks with a force of up to 5 points followed, which completed the destruction. Thousands of residential buildings and almost all hospitals were destroyed. About 3 million people were left homeless. The country's capital was devastated by an earthquake, the water supply was destroyed, epidemics and looting began.

Ashgabat earthquake - 176 thousand victims

On the night of October 5-6, 1948, an earthquake occurred in the capital of the Turkmen SSR, Ashgabat, which is recognized by experts as one of the most destructive. The strength in the epicentral region was 9-10 points, Ashgabat was destroyed by 98 percent, and 3⁄4 of the city’s population died.

In 1948, very little was reported about the disaster in the official Soviet press. It was only said that “the earthquake resulted in human casualties.” Later information the media stopped publishing information about the victims altogether. A large number of victims was associated with the early time of the earthquake and architectural features: Ashgabat was built up with houses with flat roofs.

To combat the consequences of the earthquake, carry out search and rescue operations and bury the victims, 4 divisions of the Red Army were transferred to the city. The disaster claimed the life of the mother of a large politician Saparmurat Niyazov and his brothers, Muhammetmuraat and Niyazmurat.

Sicilian earthquake - 100 thousand victims

Well, and finally - the Sicilian earthquake of 1693 or the Great Sicilian - one of the largest in the history of all of Italy. It occurred on January 11, 1693 during the eruption of Etna and caused destruction in southern Italy, Sicily and Malta. The earthquake itself and subsequent aftershocks and landslides killed about 100 thousand people.

South-eastern Sicily suffered the most: many architectural monuments were destroyed here. It was in the Val di Noto area, almost completely destroyed, that a new architectural style late Baroque, known as the "Sicilian Baroque". Many buildings of this style are protected by UNESCO monuments.