Some facts about the strongest earthquakes ever recorded
The 8.8 magnitude temblor set off warnings in Hawaii, North and Central America and Pacific islands south toward New Zealand, with officials warning that the potential tsunami danger may last for more than a day.
Follow our live updates here
The US Geological Survey believes the earthquake would potentially tie with the sixth largest earthquake recorded, which happened in Chile in 2010, but said it needs more data to verify that.
Here's a glance at some of the most powerful earthquakes recorded previously, according to the USGS.
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1. Biobío, Chile
A 9.5 magnitude earthquake struck in a central region of Chile in 1960. Known as the Valdivia or Great Chilean earthquake, the largest ever recorded temblor resulted in more than 1600 deaths in Chile and beyond, most of them caused by a large tsunami. Thousands of people were injured.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including tsunami threat remains for NZ and quake sparks Russian volcanic eruption, plus the pop star and the politician spotted having dinner. (Source: 1News)
2. Alaska
In 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake jolted Alaska's Prince William Sound, lasting for almost 5 minutes. More than 130 people were killed in the largest recorded earthquake in the US and subsequent tsunami. There were huge landslides and towering waves that caused severe flooding. The event was followed by thousands of aftershocks for weeks after the initial quake.
3. Sumatra, Indonesia
A 9.1 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated Southeast and South Asia and East Africa in 2004, killing 230,000 people. Indonesia alone recorded more than 167,000 deaths as entire communities were wiped out.
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4. Tohoku, Japan
A magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan in 2011, triggering a towering tsunami that smashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant. It knocked out power and cooling systems and triggered meltdowns in three reactors. More than 18,000 people were killed in the quake and tsunami, some of whom have never been recovered.
See the latest on TVNZ+
5. Kamchatka, Russia
In 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake caused significant damage but no reported deaths despite a tsunami that hit Hawaii with 9.1-meter waves.
6. Biobío, Chile
An 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Chile in 2010, shaking the capital for a minute and half and setting off a tsunami. More than 500 people were killed in the disaster.
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7. Esmeraldas, Ecuador
In 1906, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami killed about 1500 people. Its effects were felt for miles along the Central American coast and as far away as San Francisco and Japan.
8. Alaska
In 1965, a magnitude 8.7 quake struck Alaska's Rat Islands, causing an 11-meter-high tsunami. There was some minor damage, including cracks in buildings and an asphalt runway.
9. Tibet
At least 780 people were killed when a magnitude 8.6 earthquake struck in 1950. Dozens of villages were destroyed, including at least one that slid into a river. There were also major landslides that jammed the Subansiri River in India. When the water eventually broke through, it resulted in a deadly 7-meter wave.
10. Sumatra, Indonesia
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In 2012, a powerful 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra in Indonesia. Though the quake caused little damage, it increased pressure on a fault that was the source of the devastating 2004 tsunami.
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1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Some facts about the strongest earthquakes ever recorded
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's Far East yesterday, causing tsunami waves to wash ashore in Japan and Alaska and calls for people around the Pacific to be on alert or move to higher ground. The 8.8 magnitude temblor set off warnings in Hawaii, North and Central America and Pacific islands south toward New Zealand, with officials warning that the potential tsunami danger may last for more than a day. Follow our live updates here The US Geological Survey believes the earthquake would potentially tie with the sixth largest earthquake recorded, which happened in Chile in 2010, but said it needs more data to verify that. Here's a glance at some of the most powerful earthquakes recorded previously, according to the USGS. ADVERTISEMENT 1. Biobío, Chile A 9.5 magnitude earthquake struck in a central region of Chile in 1960. Known as the Valdivia or Great Chilean earthquake, the largest ever recorded temblor resulted in more than 1600 deaths in Chile and beyond, most of them caused by a large tsunami. Thousands of people were injured. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including tsunami threat remains for NZ and quake sparks Russian volcanic eruption, plus the pop star and the politician spotted having dinner. (Source: 1News) 2. Alaska In 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake jolted Alaska's Prince William Sound, lasting for almost 5 minutes. More than 130 people were killed in the largest recorded earthquake in the US and subsequent tsunami. There were huge landslides and towering waves that caused severe flooding. The event was followed by thousands of aftershocks for weeks after the initial quake. 3. Sumatra, Indonesia A 9.1 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated Southeast and South Asia and East Africa in 2004, killing 230,000 people. Indonesia alone recorded more than 167,000 deaths as entire communities were wiped out. ADVERTISEMENT 4. Tohoku, Japan A magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan in 2011, triggering a towering tsunami that smashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant. It knocked out power and cooling systems and triggered meltdowns in three reactors. More than 18,000 people were killed in the quake and tsunami, some of whom have never been recovered. See the latest on TVNZ+ 5. Kamchatka, Russia In 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake caused significant damage but no reported deaths despite a tsunami that hit Hawaii with 9.1-meter waves. 6. Biobío, Chile An 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Chile in 2010, shaking the capital for a minute and half and setting off a tsunami. More than 500 people were killed in the disaster. ADVERTISEMENT 7. Esmeraldas, Ecuador In 1906, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami killed about 1500 people. Its effects were felt for miles along the Central American coast and as far away as San Francisco and Japan. 8. Alaska In 1965, a magnitude 8.7 quake struck Alaska's Rat Islands, causing an 11-meter-high tsunami. There was some minor damage, including cracks in buildings and an asphalt runway. 9. Tibet At least 780 people were killed when a magnitude 8.6 earthquake struck in 1950. Dozens of villages were destroyed, including at least one that slid into a river. There were also major landslides that jammed the Subansiri River in India. When the water eventually broke through, it resulted in a deadly 7-meter wave. 10. Sumatra, Indonesia ADVERTISEMENT In 2012, a powerful 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra in Indonesia. Though the quake caused little damage, it increased pressure on a fault that was the source of the devastating 2004 tsunami.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Scientists say these waves were tame by comparison to tsunamis of the past
'It definitely created a Pacific-wide tsunami, which in the context of tsunamis is quite large,' said Tina Dura, a tsunami researcher at Virginia Tech in the US. 'But it's a little bit smaller than could be possible in that magnitude of earthquake.' The quake occurred near the Kamchatka Peninsula, where the Pacific tectonic plate is sliding underneath the North American plate. This seismically active 'subduction' zone has produced two of the world's top 10 earthquakes. In 1952, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit less than 32km away from the epicentre of yesterday's quake; that temblor also triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami. The two plates slipped past one another at the relatively shallow depth of 20km under the ocean, which caused part of the seafloor to thrust upward and displace the water - creating a tsunami. Wave heights reached much higher than normal near the Kamchatka Peninsula - more than 4.5m, said Alexander Rabinovich, a physical oceanographer and part of the IUGG International Tsunami Commission. He said local teams will be surveying damage to the low-population area along the southern coast of Kamchatka, where he said wave heights could have reached 15m. Around Hawaii, wave heights hit 1.5 to 1.8m. Most places around California saw just a foot (30cm) or so in increased wave height - though Crescent City, where tsunamis often get amplified because of the shape its shelf, saw wave heights of almost 1.2m. Why wave heights were relatively low farther away from the quake 'is the biggest question at the moment', said Viacheslav Gusiakov, a tsunami expert in the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. As the wave spreads out, it weakens. But the similarly powerful 1952 earthquake in the same region caused bigger waves and more damage in Hawaii than yesterday's quake so far. One possible explanation, Gusiakov said, is a potential absence of a large landslide in the ocean that could have exacerbated the tsunami. Underwater movements of sediments or rocks can add to the energy of a tsunami by up to 90%, although this specific case will need to be studied more. It's also possible that the earthquake itself, although powerful, may have contributed to a milder tsunami. US Geological Survey modelling suggests the land shifted by 6-9m along a roughly 480km stretch of fault, said Diego Melgar, director of the Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Centre at the University of Oregon. These sorts of variations in fault movement can be the difference between relatively small tsunamis and disastrous ones, he said. For instance, the 2011 earthquake that triggered a nuclear crisis in Japan shifted the land by as much as 45m across a similarly long stretch of fault line, creating tsunami waves that were as high as 30m locally. It also caused millions of dollars in damage in Crescent City and swept one person away. 'Earthquakes have a personality,' Melgar said. 'Those kinds of details really affect the tsunami.' Part of the answer is also better warnings, experts said. Tsunami warnings were issued in a timely manner by the Kamchatka and Sakhalin tsunami warning centres, Gusiakov said. So far, no tsunami fatalities have been reported. The surge of water did cause a deck to break off in Crescent City, but no injuries have been reported so far. Rabinovich said the tsunami warnings were quite effective this time around, allowing people time to evacuate from coastal areas, take boats out of harbours and prepare. 'When you're all the way across the Pacific Ocean, you do have a little bit more time to get everyone aware and prepared,' Dura said. That's not always the case. For example, she said an event could unfold in minutes to hours in the western United States from a rupture in the Cascadia subduction zone. It's too early to say that the earthquake did not cause any disastrous tsunami damage, Melgar said. People have become used to seeing disaster impacts broadcast live on social media, but it will take careful analysis of satellite data as well as boots-on-the-ground surveys to know the height of waves that hit the Russian coast, particularly in the sparsely populated Kamchatka Peninsula. Even though any tsunami impacts were minimal in Hawaii and on the US West Coast, Melgar called it 'a story of triumph' that those areas received warnings and acted quickly. Some warning systems have been implemented in response to deadlier and more damaging earthquakes. The 1952 earthquake near the Kamchatka Peninsula caused significant damage in Hawaii. In 1946, a 8.6-magnitude quake in Alaska's Aleutian Islands triggered a tsunami that killed 159 people in Hawaii. Those disasters were the driving force behind the creation of the US Tsunami Warning Centres, which are part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 'Any warning at all is a huge success,' Melgar said.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Russian volcano erupts after major quake
A volcano in Russia's far east erupted on Wednesday, Russian scientists said, hours after a major quake prompted evacuations and tsunami alerts across parts of the Pacific coast. Eruptions of the Klyuchevskoy volcano – the highest active in Europe and Asia – are quite common, with at least 18 of
