Global Earthquake Trends 1900 – 2010

Jan 142010

Killer Earthquakes and Other Problems Beneath the Surface

Silent and unexpected, without warning, they smite with irresistible force. All that dwells upon the surface is subject to the invisible fury of the earthquake. Shacks and mansions, buildings, bridges, and roadways; their permanence rendered illusory. Yet for all its titanic power, the earthquake, unlike other natural forces, does not kill man directly. It exerts itself on the very things that sustain our civilization, causing what normally provides shelter to cave in and crush us.

But in some ways earthquakes are similar to other natural disasters. Like pestilence, its force is unseen and usually takes us by surprise. Like a great flood, it can level villages or cities. And similar to some other natural disasters, there seems to be a rising trend in the number of people killed in recent times. As the bar graph below indicates, there is a clear rise in the number of people killed by earthquakes in the last few decades.

The question is why? What is causing this increase? Is it due to stronger earthquakes? Poor building practices? These are not just academic questions. They’re on a lot of peoples’ minds nowadays. Subsequent posts on this subject will show that many different theories abound, running the gamut from the religious to the scientific: from the end-of-the world crowd to those who tie earthquakes to global warming.

Yet killer earthquakes raise other questions as well. Which regions of the world are most affected by earthquakes? How have they impacted human life in those areas? Sometimes powerful earthquakes do more than just shatter illusions of permanence. As we have witnessed in the recent case of Haiti, they can also expose shabby facades that have allowed inexcusable circumstances to exist for too long. The terrible earthquake that struck Haiti recently, for example, has unleashed many far-reaching questions. How could a democracy geographically so close to the most powerful country in the world have so little infrastructure that even in good times it must rely on foreign aid organizations just to operate? What are the reasons that led to this deplorable condition? Many recent stories in the mass media inform us how unlucky Haiti has been in recent years, listing numerous other devastating natural disasters as well as crushing poverty and other social ills. Like the Reverend Pat Robertson who claims Haiti is suffering due to a long-ago pact with the devil, the mass media stories seem to imply that Haiti, alone, is to blame for her plight. Is there anything that supports these accusations? Or has the earthquake also laid bare remnants of those historical circumstances responsible for the penury that has gripped this once proud nation for so long?

But is Haiti an isolated case? How many other countries and regions around the world have been crushed by killer quakes? Were many of them also impoverished? What are their stories and do they hold any meaning for those of us who live in areas that aren’t affected by earthquakes? Table 1.below lists the countries that have suffered one thousand or more deaths from earthquakes since 1900. This information was used to create Chart 1., also shown below. The question the chart asks is why earthquakes are causing greater numbers of deaths as the time line approaches the present? How many other Haitis are exemplified in the incidents contained in this data? Chart 2. demonstrates that some regions of the world suffer much higher death rates than others.

Deadliest Earthquakes 1900 to 2009

Table 1.¹

Start Date	End Date	Country	Region	Location	Type	Sub-Type	Killed	Total Affected	Damage - USD
4/18/1902	4/18/1902	Guatemala	S. America	Quezaltenango, San Marcos ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2000
12/13/1902	12/13/1902	Soviet Union	S. Central Asia	Andishan,Tashkent (Uzbeki ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	4562
4/29/1903	4/29/1903	Turkey	W. Asia	Malazgirt	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	6000
4/5/1905	4/5/1905	India	S. Central Asia	Kangra	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	20000
9/8/1905	9/8/1905	Italy	S. Europe	Calabria	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2500
2/4/1906	2/4/1906	Nicaragua	C. America	Masaya	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1000
2/4/1906	2/4/1906	Taiwan (China)	E. Asia	Formosa, Kagi	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1300
3/17/1906	3/17/1906	China P Rep	E. Asia	Kagi, Toroku	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1266
3/17/1906	3/17/1906	Taiwan (China)	E. Asia	Kagi, Toroku	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	6000
4/18/1906	4/18/1906	United States	N. America	San Francisco (California ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2000		524
8/16/1906	8/16/1906	Chile	S. America	Valparaiso	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	20000		100
1/14/1907	1/14/1907	Jamaica	Caribbean	Kingston	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1200	90000	30
10/21/1907	10/21/1907	China P Rep	E. Asia	Tien Shan	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	12000
10/21/1907	10/21/1907	Soviet Union	S. Central Asia	Samarkand (Uzbekistan), T ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	12000
12/28/1908	12/28/1908	Italy	S. Europe	Messina (Sicilia)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	75000	150000	116
1/23/1909	1/23/1909	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Boroujerd	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	5000
4/13/1910	4/13/1910	Costa Rica	S. America	Cartago	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1750
1/13/1915	1/13/1915	Italy	S. Europe	Avezzano	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	29980		60
1/21/1917	1/21/1917	Indonesia	S. Eastern Asia	Bali	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	15000
7/30/1917	7/30/1917	China P Rep	E. Asia		Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1800
12/29/1917	12/29/1917	Guatemala	S. America	Guatemala city	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2650
2/13/1918	2/13/1918	China P Rep	E. Asia	Kwangtung (Guangdong)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	10000
12/16/1920	12/16/1920	China P Rep	E. Asia	Gansu province	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	180000
1/1/1922	1/1/1922	Chile	S. America		Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1000
3/24/1923	3/24/1923	China P Rep	E. Asia		Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	5000
5/25/1923	5/25/1923	China P Rep	E. Asia		Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2200
9/1/1923	9/1/1923	Japan	E. Asia	Kanto plaine (Yokohama,To ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	143000	203733	600
9/1/1923	9/1/1923	Japan	E. Asia	Atami, Ito, Simoda, Tokai ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Tsunami	2144
3/16/1925	3/16/1925	China P Rep	E. Asia	Yunnan	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	5000
3/7/1927	7/3/1927	Japan	E. Asia	Tango, Honshu	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2925		40
3/7/1927	3/7/1927	Japan	E. Asia	South-West Kyoto	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Tsunami	1100
5/22/1927	5/22/1927	China P Rep	E. Asia	Nanchang (Jiangxi)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	200000
5/1/1929	5/1/1929	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Beinin	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	3300	1121
5/6/1930	5/6/1930	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia		Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2500
7/23/1930	7/23/1930	Italy	S. Europe	Naples	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1883	10000
3/31/1931	3/31/1931	Nicaragua	C. America	Managua	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1000		15
12/26/1932	12/26/1932	China P Rep	E. Asia	Gansu province	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	70000
3/2/1933	3/2/1933	Japan	E. Asia	Sanriku coast (Honshu Isl ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	3008
3/3/1933	3/3/1933	Japan	E. Asia	Sanriku	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Tsunami	3000
9/25/1933	9/25/1933	China P Rep	E. Asia		Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	10000
1/15/1934	1/15/1934	India	S. Central Asia	Bihar province	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	6000
1/15/1934	1/15/1934	Nepal	S. Central Asia	Eastern Nepal	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	9040
4/20/1935	4/20/1935	Taiwan (China)	E. Asia	Taihoku, Taichu	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	3410
5/31/1935	5/31/1935	Pakistan	S. Central Asia	Quetta (Baluchistan)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	60000
7/16/1935	7/16/1935	Taiwan (China)	E. Asia		Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2700
1/24/1939	1/24/1939	Chile	S. America	Chillan region (Concepcio ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	30000	58500	920
12/26/1939	12/26/1939	Turkey	W. Asia	Erzincan (Anatolia)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	32962		20
11/26/1942	11/26/1942	Turkey	W. Asia		Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	4000
12/20/1942	12/20/1942	Turkey	W. Asia	Niksar-Erbaa	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	3000
9/10/1943	9/10/1943	Japan	E. Asia	Tottori (Honshu Isl.)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1083
11/26/1943	11/26/1943	Turkey	W. Asia	Ladik	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2824	5000
1/15/1944	1/15/1944	Argentina	S. America	San Juan	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	10000	155000
2/1/1944	2/1/1944	Turkey	W. Asia	Gerede (West Anatolia)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	3959
1/12/1945	1/12/1945	Japan	E. Asia	Mikawa (Near Nagoya, Hons ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1961
11/27/1945	11/27/1945	Pakistan	S. Central Asia	Makran	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	4000
11/10/1946	11/10/1946	Peru	S. America	Ancash, Quiches	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1400
12/21/1946	12/21/1946	Japan	E. Asia	Tonankai (Honshu Isl.)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2000
6/28/1948	6/28/1948	Japan	E. Asia	Fukui	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	5131		1000
10/5/1948	10/5/1948	Soviet Union	S. Central Asia	Ashkabat (Turkmenistan)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	110000		25
8/5/1949	8/5/1949	Ecuador	S. America	Pelileo, Ambato	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	6000	100000	20
8/15/1950	8/15/1950	India	S. Central Asia	Assam province	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1500
5/6/1951	5/6/1951	El Salvador	S. America	Jucuapa, Chinameca	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1000		23
11/4/1952	11/4/1952	Soviet Union	E. Asia	Kamchatka Peninsula, Kuri ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Tsunami	2300
2/12/1953	2/12/1953	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Turud	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1000
3/18/1953	3/18/1953	Turkey	W. Asia	Canakkale, Balikesir	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1200	50000
6/10/1954	6/10/1954	Afghanistan	S. Central Asia	North Region	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2000
9/9/1954	9/9/1954	Algeria	N. Africa	Orleansville	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1250	129250	6
7/2/1957	7/2/1957	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Caspian Shores	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2500	10000
12/2/1957	12/2/1957	Mongolia	E. Asia	Altay	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1200
12/13/1957	12/13/1957	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Western Iran	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	3000	5000
2/29/1960	2/29/1960	Morocco	N. Africa	Agadir	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	12000	25000	120
5/21/1960	5/21/1960	Chile	S. America	Puerto Montt, Valdivia (A ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	6000	2003000	550
1/9/1962	1/9/1962	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Qazvin	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	12000	103000	30
7/26/1963	7/26/1963	Yugoslavia	E. Europe	Skopje	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1100	3383	600
8/19/1966	8/19/1966	Turkey	W. Asia	Varto	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2394	109500	20
8/31/1968	8/31/1968	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Khorasan province	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	10000	79050	35
7/25/1969	7/25/1969	China P Rep	E. Asia	Tientsin (Swatow province ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	3000
1/1/1970	1/1/1970	China P Rep	E. Asia	Yunnan province	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	10000
3/28/1970	3/28/1970	Turkey	W. Asia	Gediz	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1086	83448	55.6
5/31/1970	5/31/1970	Peru	S. America	Chimbote	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	66794	3216240	530
4/10/1972	4/10/1972	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Qir (Southwest Iran)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	5057	23458	1
12/23/1972	12/23/1972	Nicaragua	C. America	Managua	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	10000	720000	845
1/5/1974	1/5/1974	China P Rep	E. Asia	Yunnan, Sichuan	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	20000
12/28/1974	12/28/1974	Pakistan	S. Central Asia	North Indus R. Valley	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	4700	50200	3.26
2/4/1975	2/4/1975	China P Rep	E. Asia	Anshan Liaoning province	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	10000
9/6/1975	9/6/1975	Turkey	W. Asia	Lice	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2385	53372	17
2/4/1976	2/4/1976	Guatemala	S. America	Guatemala city	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	23000	4993000	1000
7/27/1976	7/27/1976	China P Rep	E. Asia	Tangshan, Pek.,Tientsin	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	242000	164000	5600
8/16/1976	8/16/1976	Philippines	S. Eastern Asia	Gulf of Moro, Sulu	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	6000	181348	134
11/24/1976	11/24/1976	Turkey	W. Asia	Muradiye	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	3840	216000	25
3/4/1977	3/4/1977	Romania	E. Europe	Bucharest	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1641	386300	2000
9/16/1978	9/16/1978	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Tabas (Khorasan province) ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	25000	40000	50
10/10/1980	10/10/1980	Algeria	N. Africa	El Asnam	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2633	930317	5200
11/23/1980	11/23/1980	Italy	S. Europe	Avellino, Potenza, Casert ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	4689	400000	20000
6/11/1981	6/11/1981	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Golbaf region, Kerman pro ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2000	3000	5
7/28/1981	7/28/1981	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Kerman, Golbaf, Shahdab	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1200	31000	1000
12/13/1982	12/13/1982	Yemen Arab Rep	W. Asia	Dhamar province	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1507	401500	2000
10/30/1983	10/30/1983	Turkey	W. Asia	Khorasan, Pasinler, Narma ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1346	834137	25
9/19/1985	9/19/1985	Mexico	C. America	Mexico city, Michoacan, J ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	9500	2130204	4104
10/10/1986	10/10/1986	El Salvador	S. America	San Salvador	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1100	770000	1500
3/5/1987	3/5/1987	Ecuador	S. America	Carchi, Imbabura, Pastaza ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	5000	150000	1500
12/7/1988	12/7/1988	Soviet Union	W. Asia	Armenia, Leninakan, Kirov ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	25000	1642000	14000
6/21/1990	6/21/1990	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Rasht, Astara, Zanjan, Gh ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	40000	710000	8000
7/16/1990	7/16/1990	Philippines	S. Eastern Asia	Cabanatuan, Baguio, Dagup ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2412	1597553	369.6
10/20/1991	10/20/1991	India	S. Central Asia	Harsil (near Gangotri, Ut ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1500	54383	60
12/12/1992	12/12/1992	Indonesia	S. Eastern Asia	Sikka, East Flores, Ende, ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2500	92103	100
9/29/1993	9/29/1993	India	S. Central Asia	Killari, Haegoan, Sostour ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	9748	30000	280
1/17/1995	1/17/1995	Japan	E. Asia	Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto reg ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	5297	541636	100000
5/27/1995	5/27/1995	Russia	E. Europe	Neftegorsk (Sakhalin Isla ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1989	750	64.1
2/28/1997	2/28/1997	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Ardabil region	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1100	38600	76
5/10/1997	5/10/1997	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Birjand, Qayer (Khorasan) ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1568	74600	100
2/4/1998	2/4/1998	Afghanistan	S. Central Asia	Rustaq (Takhar province)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2323	32818	10
5/30/1998	5/30/1998	Afghanistan	S. Central Asia	Shari-I-Buzurg (Faizabad ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	4700	116935	10
7/17/1998	7/17/1998	Papua New Guinea	Oceana	Sandaun Province	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Tsunami	2182	9867
1/25/1999	1/25/1999	Colombia	S. America	Armenia (Quindio), Risara ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1186	1205933	1857.37
8/17/1999	8/17/1999	Turkey	W. Asia	Izmit, Kocaeli, Yalova, G ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	17127	1358953	20000
9/21/1999	9/21/1999	Taiwan (China)	E. Asia	Nantou, Taichung County	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2264	108664	14100
1/26/2001	1/26/2001	India	S. Central Asia	Kachch-Bhuj, Ahmedabad, R ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	20005	6321812	2623
3/25/2002	3/25/2002	Afghanistan	S. Central Asia	Nahrin (Baghlan province) ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1000	91228
5/21/2003	5/21/2003	Algeria	N. Africa	Thenia, Boumerdes, Zemmou ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	2266	210261	5000
12/26/2003	12/26/2003	Iran Islam Rep	S. Central Asia	Bam (Kerran province)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	26796	267628	500
12/26/2004	12/26/2004	Thailand	S. Eastern Asia	Krabi, Phang Nga, Phuket, ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Tsunami	8345	67007	1000
12/26/2004	12/26/2004	India	S. Central Asia	Tamil Nadu state, Andaman ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Tsunami	16389	654512	1022.8
12/26/2004	12/26/2004	Sri Lanka	S. Central Asia		Earthquake (seismic activity)	Tsunami	35399	1019306	1316.5
12/26/2004	12/26/2004	Indonesia	S. Eastern Asia	Aceh province (Sumatra)	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Tsunami	165708	532898	4451.6
10/8/2005	10/8/2005	India	S. Central Asia	Jammu and Kashmir	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	1309	156622	1000
10/8/2005	10/8/2005	Pakistan	S. Central Asia	Bagh, Muzzafarabad, Poonc ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	73338	5128000	5200
5/27/2006	5/27/2006	Indonesia	S. Eastern Asia	Yogyakarta, Central Java	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	5778	3177923	3100
5/12/2008	5/12/2008	China P Rep	E. Asia	Wenchuan country, Wencgua ...	Earthquake (seismic activity)	Earthquake (ground shaking)	87476	45976596	85000

The Haitian Example

In what seems to be an increasingly frequent occurrence, the world awoke on a recent morning to the tragic news that another colossal earthquake rocked the world. This time it was Haiti that was smashed by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which, according to USGS geophysicist Kristin Marano, was the most powerful to hit the island nation since 1770—almost 250 years ago.

There were reports that tens of thousands of people may have been killed, including foreign dignitaries and peace keepers. In the words of the New York Times, “huge swaths” of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, lay in ruins. The President, Renee Preval described the devastation as “unimaginable” in an interview with The Miami Herald.

“Parliament has collapsed,” Préval was quoted as saying. “The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed. There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them.”

The chaos is so great right now that no one has a clear grasp of the number of people who’ve been killed. Haitian senator, Youri Latortue, told The Associated Press that as many as 500,000 could be dead.² Based on this estimate the Haiti quake would go down in history as the deadliest on record. As the chart below demonstrates, this would surpass the catastrophic 2004 Asian Tsunami and 1976 earthquake in China by a factor of 100%. On the other hand, Victor Jackson, an assistant national coordinator with Haiti’s Red Cross, told Reuters that he thinks the death toll is between 45,000 and 50,000, a much smaller but nonetheless significant number.³

Who’s right? Unfortunately only time will tell as aid and rescue workers struggle against severe logistical problems involving electricity, medical facilities, communications and transportation systems, all stalwart pillars of modern life. Yet as has happened in other recent disasters, problems in these areas may also prove quite deadly in their own right. During tragedies that occur in urban areas, like the present crisis in Haiti, we realize how beholden our economic and urban development strategies have made us to complex infrastructure. Nightmares inevitably follow when roads and bridges go down or ports become inaccessible; when hospitals no longer have electricity or utilities cannot provide clean water.

Cities with their large populations in small areas have always been scenes of dramatic events. Dirty or clean, cities are paradigms of a civilization’s technology, industry, and culture. But when natural disaster slams into them, we experience more than just loss and the pain that comes with it. We are plunged headlong into a state of shock as one reality is suddenly replaced by another. Yet this is not without a silver lining, if we choose to see it. Such occasions offer us the opportunity to ponder our weaknesses and perhaps even look at presumed strengths in a new light. Too often, however, we become overly fixated on the fight to beat adversity and restore the status quo.

Of course, we must act quickly to save lives. But what about when saving lives becomes merely a stage upon which elites assert themselves for their own future advantage, which doesn’t necessarily jibe with the interests of those who must suffer their aid? Or when the act of bestowing aid becomes enmeshed in politics, propaganda, and pent up foreign policy objectives? As we all know, these actors have already begun to descend upon the scene. As we re-assert our broken technology to overcome the damage of catastrophe, we should not lose sight of the warning that disaster often brings with it. The unseen tragedy of disaster lies hidden in the fact that we often don’t see or hear its warning as we bulldoze away the wreckage and assemble the material back into bigger and better. We shouldn’t let ourselves be fooled into thinking that just because things look normal again that the causes of the catastrophe aren’t present. Death with his scythe sometimes lingers knowingly waiting.

Unstable Ground

Like other natural disasters, more and more people are starting to take notice of earthquakes. That perhaps, like global warming, there are trends starting to appear in the rate and possibly even intensity of earthquakes. Is their frequency increasing? Or intensity? Searching the Internet reveals that many people, from experts to ordinary folk, are concerned about all the seismic activity occurring beneath our feet. Indeed, what could be more scary than to think that the very ground on which we build our lives is unstable and prone to shaking? As stated above, future posts will delve into the ideas and concerns about earthquakes currently circulating out there. But first, it will be helpful to take a look at the deadliest earthquakes during the last century to see what they have to tell us.

Even a quick glance at the numbers suggests that there is good reason for people to have taken notice of earthquakes in recent years. In addition to the deadly quakes mentioned above, there were other notable incidents in just the last few years, some of which are:

- the 2005 earthquake that struck Pakistan in 2005, killing 73,338;
- 20,000 killed in Iran in 2003;
- 20,005 killed in India in 2001;
- 17,127 killed in Turkey in 1999.

(These are by no means comprehensive.)

While bad economic and foreign policies have played critical roles in exacerbating recent earthquake catastrophes—mangrove deforestation with respect to the Asian Tsunami and recent urban migration policies in Haiti—their frequency and power in recent years is in and of themselves disturbing to many.

Worst Earthquakes and Earthquake-Caused Tsunamis 1900 to 2010

Chart 1.⁴

(click to enlarge)

The Rising Kill-Rate of Earthquakes

As the table and graph above demonstrate, countries around the world, since 1900, were affected by earthquakes on 129 individual occasions, each of which resulted in 1,000 or more deaths. There were 9 incidents involving Tsunamis caused by earthquakes. It’s important to keep in mind that there weren’t 129 geologically distinct earthquakes. Some of these incidents are related to the same tectonic movements. The December 26, 2004 Tsunami, for example, impacted a number of countries but was caused by the same earthquake.

2,258,165 people died in the 129 deadliest earthquake incidents from 1900 to 2008, while over 90 million were directly affected. Remember, these numbers only relate to those 129 incidents and do not represent all people that died or were affected by earthquakes during this time. Recorded monetary damages⁵ amounted to almost $320 billion or an average of about $3 billion per year for the entire period (values calculated at the time of damage).

One of the most striking observations that the chart above offers is the substantial increase in the rate of deaths as the time line moves toward the present. This is partly the result of population increases. But the rate of population increase doesn’t match the death rate increase. In 1900, the world population was about 1.6 billion, while in 2008 it was 6.7 billion, about a fourfold increase. The chart indicates an average of about 5,000 deaths per occurrence from 1900 to 1910—and this is probably a liberal estimate. From 1998 to 2008, the average is about 40,000 deaths. This represents an eightfold increase, twice the rate of population growth during this time.

This trend is surprising if one considers the huge advances in medicine, technology, and humanitarian assistance over the last century. Why would there be such a significant rise in the number of people dying in earthquakes? Part of the answer may have to do with migration from rural to urban settings, particularly in the earthquake active Asian regions. As Chart 2 below demonstrates, the majority of the deadliest earthquakes have taken place in these regions. Yet, as the chart also demonstrates, there have been high death tolls in Asia, especially China, at various times throughout the 20th Century. While migration to cities may help explain some of this increase, it’s hard to believe that it explains all of it.

Not only has the death rate increased over the last century, but it’s increasing exponentially as the time line approaches the present. For example, Chart 1. shows that it took about 70 years for the average death toll to hit 25,000, while it took less than 40 years to approach the 50,000 mark. Furthermore, 593,680 people died between 1980 and 2008. 90% of this total took place since 1990. But a whopping 88% occurred in only 10 years, 1998 – 2008! The exponential rate at which people are dying in the deadliest earthquakes is alarming and may possibly indicate that the frequency or the strength of earthquakes is increasing, or perhaps even a combination of both. It’s either that or the quality of construction has really gone downhill. Future posts will delve further into these questions.

Deadliest Earthquakes by Region 1900 to 2010

Chart 2. ⁶

(click to enlarge)

source: The International Disaster Database, available at the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, http://www.emdat.be/ [accessed 12/22/2009] [↩]
ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, “Aid workers in Haiti face ‘logistical nightmare’”, Associated Press, 01-14-2010, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/haiti_earthquake_aid. [accessed 01-14-2010] [↩]
HELENE COOPER and SIMON ROMERO, “Obama Pledges Sweeping Aid Effort; Haiti Red Cross Says Toll May Be 50,000″, The New York Times, 01-14-2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/world/americas/15haiti.html?hp. [accessed 01-14-2010] [↩]
source: The International Disaster Database, available at the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, http://www.emdat.be/ [accessed 12/22/2009] [↩]
monetary losses appear to be less complete in the earlier parts of the 20th Century compared to the later parts. Of course, another factor decreasing the amount of property damage is less development in many of the affected areas the further back in time one goes. [↩]
source: The International Disaster Database, available at the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, http://www.emdat.be/ [accessed 12/22/2009] [↩]

Tags: earthquakes, seismic activity

January 14, 2010
Posted by Jesse Roche at 5:48 pm
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Natural Disasters

2 Responses to “Global Earthquake Trends 1900 – 2010”

joshua bigley says:

August 8, 2010 at 8:22 am

I am in Nanchang, Jianxgi province, China. i live in a 21 story apartment building of recent construction (2 years). I just experienced a pulse or tremor of some-kind that went up through the floor, thru my feet, and gut at about 19:36 Beijing time on Aug 8 2010 (and as i write this–checking the date i just got an eerie feeling as i believe the big Sichuan quake was on this date). It happened two or three days ago as well, only slightly smaller. I see Nanchang had a serious earthquake in 1927 with over 200,000 deaths. And I did some research and found that research shows magnetic pulses are traceable about two weeks before an earthquake. i wonder if that’s what I felt. Should I be worried. The area I live in also has much clay. i wonder if the building is settling into the watery clay–it is a boggish area. I also read a research paper discussing the liquidification of clay during earthquake activity. i am concerned there will be an earthquake in or around nanchang soon.
Buster McDermott says:

June 28, 2012 at 4:28 am

Nice list of biggest earthquakes. I’m looking for “What to do” tips to avoid an accident while experiencing an earthquake. http://www.ranker.com/list/the-worst-earthquakes-of-the-century/drake-bird

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Global Earthquake Trends 1900 – 2010

2 Responses to “Global Earthquake Trends 1900 – 2010”

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