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The Great Lisbon Earthquake
The magnitude of the earthquake was a 9 and the death toll from the resultant tsunami was estimated to be 20,000. The aftermath was still affecting Lisbon and neighboring towns six days after the shock. November 1st is All Saints' Day, so most of the people who were killed were attending mass at the time of the earthquake. -
The Eruption of Krakatoa
The explosion in the Sundra Strait between Java and Sumatra is what caused a giant tsunami that was more than 115 ft high to produce when the top of the volcano fell into the ocean. The eruption destroyed 165 villages and the death toll was more than 36,000 people. The volcanic eruption was reported as the loudest sound ever in history. The force was 13,000 more powerful than the devastating bomb that hit Hiroshima in 1945. -
Aleutian Islands Earthquake
This earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 struck off the coast of Unimak Island in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, which generated a tsunami in the Hawaiian Islands. The death toll was around 160 people. The tsunami caused the greatest number of deaths in Hawaii's history and it led to the creation of the first tsunami warning system in the U.S. -
The Great Chilean Earthquake
The earthquake in Valdivia, Chile had a magnitude of 9.5 which triggered a tsunami that traveled 15 hours across the Pacific Ocean and hit Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines. The death toll was 61 people even though this was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. It also lasted for around 10 minutes. -
The Great Alaska Earthquake/Good Friday Earthquake
The Good Friday earthquake had a magnitude of 9.2 which produced a tsunami that killed around 130 people in Alaska and California. This was a megathrust earthquake, which was caused by an oceanic plate sinking under a continental plate. It was also the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded. -
Hokkaido Earthquake
This earthquake in the Sea of Japan had a magnitude of 7.8 but caused a tsunami with a death toll of 120 people on Okushiri Island, Japan. The 5 to 10-meter waves from the tsunami destroyed fishing villages and resulted in $600 million worth of property damage. -
Papua New Guinea Earthquake
This earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1 which generated a submarine landslide that then triggered a tsunami. The death toll after these events was more than 2,100 people. The event occurred near the north coast region of Papua New Guinea on a reverse fault which caused a large undersea landslide and then a tsunami that hit the coast. There were 3 catastrophic tsunami waves that hit the island. -
Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami
The Sumatra earthquake had a magnitude of 9.1 that triggered a tsunami in which the death toll was 230,000 people. This is thought to be the most destructive tsunami in recorded history because the earthquake displaced the ocean floor near the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It was also an undersea megathrust earthquake. -
Samoa Earthquake and Tsunami
The Samoa earthquake had a magnitude of 8.1 which produced a tsunami killing around 200 people. The earthquake and tsunami took place next to the Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone, which is in the southern Pacific Ocean. The tsunami was caused by two separate earthquakes that occurred between 2 and 3 minutes of each other near the Tonga Trench. This is a very rare event called a "doublet". -
Chile Earthquake and Tsunami
This earthquake in Chile had a magnitude of 8.8 which triggered a tsunami that had a death toll of 700 people in coastal towns. It occurred off the coast of south-central Chile that caused lots of damage while the shaking lasted for about 3 minutes. -
Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
This earthquake in Japan had a magnitude of 9.1 which generated a tsunami that resulted in killing over 20,000 people. It struck offshore of Japan, where two of Earth's tectonic plates collide in an area called a subduction zone. Researchers believe that a clay layer allowed the two plates to slide about 164 ft, which is what made the earthquake and tsunami so big.
