Examples of Earthquakes: The Complete List

Earthquakes have reshaped coastlines, cities and lives, leaving both geological traces and historical lessons. Looking across notable events helps put individual tremors into perspective and shows how impacts vary by location and time.

There are 20 Examples of Earthquakes, ranging from 1755 Lisbon Earthquake to 2018 Sulawesi Palu Earthquake and Tsunami; Date (YYYY-MM-DD),Magnitude (Mw),Location are used to organize each entry — you’ll find below.

How were earthquakes chosen for this list?

Entries were selected for historical or scientific significance, confirmed magnitude reports and reliable date/location records; the goal is a representative set that illustrates different sizes, regions and consequences rather than an exhaustive catalogue.

How should I interpret the Magnitude (Mw) values here?

Magnitude (Mw) is the moment magnitude scale reflecting released energy; each whole-number increase represents roughly 32 times more energy, so combine Mw with the date and location to gauge likely impact and historical context.

Examples of Earthquakes

Images and Descriptions

1960 Valdivia (Great Chile) Earthquake

Largest instrumentally recorded earthquake, caused massive Pacific tsunamis and widespread Chilean destruction. Estimated 1,000–6,000 deaths, coastal devastation and long-term uplift from subduction of the Nazca beneath the South American plate.

1964 Great Alaska Earthquake

Mega-thrust quake produced strong shaking, landslides and Pacific tsunamis, killing about 131 people and causing extensive damage and coastal subsidence. Result of subduction where the Pacific Plate dives beneath North America.

2004 Indian Ocean (Sumatra-Andaman) Earthquake

Huge megathrust quake generated catastrophic tsunamis across the Indian Ocean, killing roughly 230,000–280,000 people in coastal communities. Caused by the Indo‑Australian Plate subducting beneath Eurasia.

2011 Tohoku (Great East Japan) Earthquake

Mega-thrust quake and massive tsunami killed about 19,000 people, devastated coastal towns and triggered the Fukushima nuclear crisis. Caused by the Pacific Plate subducting beneath the Okhotsk microplate off Japan.

1952 Kamchatka Earthquake

Powerful subduction-zone event that generated trans-Pacific tsunamis with limited local casualties but wide oceanic impact. Result of the Pacific Plate subducting along the Aleutian-Kamchatka trench.

1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Major rupture of the San Andreas Fault produced violent shaking and fires that destroyed large parts of San Francisco; estimated ~3,000 deaths and huge urban losses. Classic right-lateral strike-slip plate boundary earthquake.

2010 Haiti Earthquake

Shallow, catastrophic quake caused collapse of buildings and infrastructure, with estimated 220,000–316,000 deaths and widespread humanitarian crisis. Associated with strike-slip faulting on the boundary of the Caribbean and North American plates.

1976 Tangshan Earthquake

Sudden, devastating urban earthquake with official and estimated death tolls near 240,000, leveling the city and causing massive casualties. Likely intraplate fault rupture within the North China Plain.

2005 Kashmir (South Asia) Earthquake

Powerful thrust earthquake in mountainous terrain caused ~86,000 deaths, widespread landslides and major infrastructure loss. Driven by the India–Eurasia continental collision and thrust faulting.

1923 Great Kanto Earthquake

Massive shaking and subsequent fires and tsunami killed around 100,000 people, destroying large parts of Tokyo and Yokohama. Complex plate interactions and subduction-related stress produced the catastrophe.

1755 Lisbon Earthquake

Historic catastrophic quake, tsunami and fires devastated Lisbon; estimated 50,000–90,000 deaths and major cultural impact on Europe. Likely a large thrust event on the Azores–Gibraltar plate boundary region.

1995 Kobe (Hanshin-Awaji) Earthquake

Inland strike-slip earthquake caused intense urban destruction, about 6,400 deaths and major economic losses. Rupture along the Nojima Fault revealed vulnerabilities in dense urban infrastructure.

1908 Messina Earthquake

Violent quake and tsunami destroyed Messina and Reggio Calabria, killing an estimated 80,000–120,000 people and causing widespread coastal collapse. Related to complex interactions of African and Eurasian plates.

2008 Sichuan (Wenchuan) Earthquake

Powerful thrust quake killed about 87,000 people, flattened towns and triggered massive landslides. Caused by thrusting on the Longmenshan fault as India continues colliding with Eurasia.

1999 İzmit Earthquake

Strike-slip rupture on the North Anatolian Fault killed roughly 17,000 people, destroyed industrial and urban areas and highlighted seismic hazard across the Marmara region.

1985 Mexico City Earthquake

Distant subduction earthquake produced severe amplification in Mexico City’s soft soils, killing about 9,500 people and collapsing many buildings despite epicenter hundreds of kilometers away.

1967 Koynanagar Reservoir Earthquake (induced)

One of the best-documented reservoir-induced quakes, causing ~180 deaths and major damage. Triggered by water impoundment increasing pore pressures and loading on a local fault.

2011 Prague, Oklahoma (induced)

Large induced earthquake widely linked to high-volume wastewater injection from oil and gas operations; caused property damage and spurred studies and regulatory changes on induced seismicity.

2018 Sulawesi Palu Earthquake and Tsunami

Strike-slip quake on the Palu‑Koro fault triggered a destructive tsunami and extreme soil liquefaction, killing about 4,340 people and devastating coastal communities.

1980 Mount St. Helens (volcanic) Eruption‑Related Seismicity

Volcano-triggered shallow seismicity preceded a massive lateral blast and eruption that killed 57 people and reshaped the landscape; illustrates how volcanic earthquakes can signal catastrophic eruptions.