The Strongest Earthquake Ever Recorded

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), earthquakes are measured according to their magnitude, "The magnitude is related to the length of the crack on which it occurs. That is, the longer the crack lasts, the larger the earthquake." The site describes in detail that the actual size of the earthquake is measured by calculating the displacement, depth, direction of the crack. The magnitude may be incorrect when describing the size of a very large earthquake, so modern measurements describe the actual effects of an earthquake.

According to the USGS report, a magnitude 10 earthquake cannot occur normally because the cracks required for it have to pass around the earth. However, the magnitude of the largest earthquake recorded was 9.5 and the cracks were about 1,000 miles long. It took place on May 22, 1960, in Valdivia, Chile. It was very tragic: it killed 1,655 people; 3,000 were injured; 2 million people became homeless and a total of 550 million was lost in southern Chile.

Of the 1,655 people killed, several lived outside of Chile, and the tsunami caused by the quake killed 61 people in Hawaii, 138 in Japan, and 32 in the Philippines. Hawaii suffered 75 million, Japan 50 million, and a total of 500,000 USD on the west coast of the United States.

The strongest earthquake but not the deadliest

Although the Valdivia earthquake is considered to be the strongest earthquake ever recorded, it is not the first or even the second deadliest earthquake in history, although it has the highest death toll. According to history, in 1556 Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces had the highest death toll in China. This is known as the Jiajing Great Earthquake, which killed an estimated 830,000 people. Many other previous earthquakes were monitored according to local records, but the description of the Jiajing earthquake was different from the others. There was 60 percent damage.

The tsunami was the second deadliest earthquake and caused the most deaths and damage. It occurred in 2004 in India and the Indian Ocean. More than 230,000 people died in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India, and the quake's epicenter was reported at Valdivia, with a magnitude of 9.3.

The magnitude of the Jiajing earthquake was estimated to be between 8.0 and 8.3. More serious consequences are due to overcrowded populations and poorly constructed stone buildings. Survivors of the Jiajing earthquake later rebuilt using soft materials such as bamboo and wood that can better withstand earthquakes and cause less damage if they fall.