Massive earthquake kills over 4,000 in Turkey, Syria: Biggest quakes ever recorded in history

A day after a massive earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit Turkey and Syria, killing more than 4,000 people, injuring several others, and leveling buildings across a large area, it begs the question as to what led to the occurrence of such a large-scale disaster.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday’s quake at 7.8, with a depth of 18 kilometers (11 miles). Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude temblor, likely triggered by the first, struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.

The second jolt caused a multistory apartment building in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa to topple onto the street in a cloud of dust as bystanders screamed, according to video of the scene.


The aftershock of the massive earthquake was felt as far away as the island of Cyprus and Egypt. The tremors were felt in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus, while Italy issued an alert for Tsunami. Turkey is in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones.

Previously, In 1999 the Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake, killing more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul.

Here is an extensive look at some of the worst earthquakes ever recorded;

BIGGEST EVER EARTHQUAKE RECORDED

One of the largest earthquakes in recent history was recorded in Bio-Bio, Chile in May 1960. The earthquake, estimated to be of magnitude 9.4 and 9.6, shook the ground for around 10 minutes. The earthquake had resulted in the death of around 1,000 to 6,000 people.

It is supposed to be the highest magnitude earthquake ever recorded and caused a damage of around $3.66 billion to $7.66 billion dollars, as per today's calculations.

1964 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE

In, 1964, an earthquake took place in Alaska on Good Friday. The Great Alaskan Earthquake had a magnitude of 9.2 and lasted for a little less than 5 minutes and is considered the most powerful ever recorded in North America. While only 9 people died as a direct result of the tremors, over a 100 others died in the resulting tsunamis around the world. Tsunami waves from the earthquake reached as far as Antarctica and were also observed in Peru, Mexico, Japan, and New Zealand, as well as other coastal regions.

2001 BHUJ EARTHQUAKE, GUJARAT

The 2001 earthquake, which took place in Bhuj, Gujarat, was the third largest earthquake ever and second most destructive in India over the last two centuries.

The earthquake killed more than 20,000 people, destroying thousands of homes, and rendering lakhs of people homeless.

2004 SUMATRA EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI

In 2004, large parts of South Asia braved what was understandably one of the most devastating natural calamities ever, a tsunami of about 100 feet triggered by an earthquake of magnitude of 9.1.

With Sumatra in Indonesia being the epicentre, the aftermath of it triggered a massive tsunami that lashed and claimed lives in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia. It claimed the highest number of lives for any tsunami in recorded history—an estimated 2,27,000 across 14 countries.

In India, nearly 42,000 people, or close to 10,000 families, were rendered homeless by the waves that struck islands off the eastern coast. More than 3,500 people were killed and nearly 9,000 died on the mainland, mostly in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

2015 NEPAL EARTHQUAKE

In 2015, more than 8,000 people died in the earthquake that struck Nepal. Some regions in India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh were also affected by the quake. More than 40 deaths were reported in those countries, where the worst-hit area was the eastern Indian state of Bihar, which borders on Nepal.

2011 JAPAN EARTHQUAKE

In 2011, the Japan earthquake and tsunami was one of the biggest natural disaster in country’s history that shook northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The disaster began when a magnitude-9 earthquake shook the region in the early afternoon, unleashing a savage tsunami.

It was the biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years and left more than 120,000 buildings destroyed, 278,000 were half-destroyed and 726,000 were partially destroyed.

1952 RUSSIA EARTHQUAKE

In 1952, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck near the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, that left over 2,000 dead. The earthquake was another undersea one that caused a large tsunami.

The waves travelled as far as Peru, Chile, and New Zealand, but the largest damage occurred in the Hawaiian Islands.

According to the National Earthquake Information Center, nearly 20,000 earthquakes take place around the globe every year, or approximately 55 per day and with current technological advances, seismic instruments have the capacity to record and collect data for more earthquakes.