In 2024, a total of 1,374 earthquakes with magnitude of five or more were recorded worldwide as of December that year. The Ring of Fire Large earthquakes generally result in higher death tolls in developing countries or countries where building codes are less stringent. China has suffered from a number of strong earthquakes that have resulted in extremely high death tolls. While earthquakes occur around the globe along the various tectonic plate boundaries, a significant proportion occur around the basin of the Pacific Ocean, in what is referred to as the Ring of Fire due to the high degree of tectonic activity. Many of the countries in the Ring of Fire, including Japan, Chile, the United States and New Zealand, led the way in earthquake policy and science as a result. The impacts of earthquakes The tragic loss of life is not the only major negative effect of earthquakes, a number of earthquakes have caused billions of dollars worth of damage to infrastructure and private property. The high cost of damage in the 2011 Fukushima and Christchurch earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand respectively demonstrates that even wealthy, developed countries who are experienced in dealing with earthquakes are ill-equipped when the large earthquakes hit.

Since 1900, the earthquake in Tangshan in China in 1976 caused the highest number of deaths, reaching over 240,000. However, some estimate the number to be over 650,000 fatalities. The earthquake in Haiti in 2010 has the second-highest death toll, but also here numbers vary from just above 100,000 to over 300,000 fatalities. Four of the 10 deadliest earthquakes during the period were registered in China.

The 1960 Great Chilean earthquake was the largest measured on the Richter scale, with a magnitude of 9.5. The second most powerful earthquake since 1900 took place in Alaska in 1964. An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 and higher is defined as causing near or total destruction, including severe damage or collapse to all buildings. Earthquakes and the Richter scale – additional information An earthquake occurs when two tectonic plates under the Earth’s surface slip past one another, resulting in the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust. The sudden violent tremors can cause destruction to infrastructure, human injury, and even death. There are a number of ways to measure the magnitude of an earthquake. One of the first and most widely-used methods is the Richter scale. The Richter magnitude scale was developed by the seismologist, Charles F. Richter, in 1935. On the Richter Scale, magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions, but is based on a logarithmic scale. For example, a magnitude 5.3 might be computed for a moderate earthquake, and a strong earthquake might be rated as magnitude 6.3. Deadliest earthquakes Despite its strong magnitude, the earthquake in Chile in 1960 does not appear on the list of the 10 deadliest earthquakes in the world since 1900. The 1976 earthquake in Tangshan, China, caused the highest death toll, while the earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010 caused the second highest death toll.

From 1900 to 2016, China was the country with highest amount of earthquakes. Between that time period, they reported 157 earthquakes. Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, and Japan rounded out the top five countries with the most earthquakes.

What causes earthquakes?

When two tectonic plates, which make up the Earth’s crust, shift, it forces shock waves to shake the Earth’s surface, resulting in an earthquake. Earthquakes are measured are on the Richter scale, assessed on a scale of one to nine and higher. The earthquake in Chile in 1960 was the strongest earthquake worldwide, according to the Richter scale, with a magnitude of 9.5. Because earthquakes are not able to be predicted, they can cause more damage than other natural disasters which can be predicted.

Earthquake effects

Earthquakes have caused a lot of physical damage and casualties. 2004 saw the highest global death toll due to earthquakes, with 298,101 casualties. As a result of this scale of damage, a lot of money goes into repair. For example, the January 17, 1994 California earthquake was the most expensive earthquake to the insurance industry in the United States. Not only did China have the highest number of earthquakes, it was also the country with the most natural disasters in 2018.

The disaster data set from the early 20th century to 2021 was collected by www.emdat.be – Université Catholique de Louvain – Brussels – Belgium and encrypted. The dataset includes 2738 records and associated attributes. They detailed the damage and location as well as the type of disaster.

Since 1980, the earthquake outside Tohoku in Japan in 2011 caused the highest economic damage. The costs caused by the tsunami following the earthquake, which hit the nuclear plant in Fukushima and caused a major nuclear disaster, resulted in economic damages of *** billion U.S. dollars. Also, the earthquake causing the third-highest sum of economic damage occurred in Japan, with the Sichuan earthquake in China in 2008 in between. Exact economic damage is difficult to estimate, and long-term downturns in GDP and investments are hard to calculate. Looking at the earthquakes that have caused the highest number of deaths since 1900, the Tangshan earthquake in China in 1976 recorded the highest death toll.

Between the years 1900 and 2022, Eastern Anatolia was the most affected region in Turkey based on the number of casualties caused by earthquakes. In this region, over ** thousand people died due to earthquakes according to the official records. The Marmara region registered the second-highest figure, totaling almost **** thousand casualties. On the other hand, the lowest number of deaths was documented in the Central Anatolia region, with *** fatalities.

The December 26, 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake (3.316 N, 95.854 E, depth 30 km) generated a tsunami that was observed worldwide and caused tremendous devastation and deaths throughout the Indian Ocean region. The earthquake, which is the third largest in the world since 1900, caused severe damage and casualties in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, and in the Nicobar Islands, India. The tsunami that followed killed more people than any other tsunami in recorded history, with 227,898 dead or missing. The total estimated material losses in the Indian Ocean region were $10 billion and insured losses were $2 billion.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan in 2011 was the costliest natural disaster since 1900, with losses reaching 235 billion U.S. dollars. The tsunami hit the nuclear plant at Fukushima, causing a nuclear disaster in the area. Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005, and Hurricane Harvey, which hit the North American country in 2017, tied with the second-largest economic losses in the period, each with 125 billion U.S. dollars.

From 1950 to 2024, the cyclone Bhola that hit Bangladesh in 1970 was the deadliest natural disaster in the world. The exact death toll is impossible to calculate, but it is estimated that over 300,000 lives were lost as a result of the cyclone. The Tangshan earthquake in China in 1976 is estimated to have caused the second-highest number of fatalities. The Haiti earthquake The fifth-deadliest natural disaster during this period was the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. However, death tolls vary between 100,000 and 316,000, meaning that some estimates make it the deadliest natural disaster in the world since 1950, and the deadliest earthquake since 1900. Sixty percent of the country’s hospitals and eighty percent of the country’s schools were destroyed. It was the worst earthquake to hit the Caribbean in 200 years, with a magnitude of 7.0 at its epicenter only 25 kilometers away from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. Poor construction practices were to blame for many of the deaths; Haiti’s buildings were not earthquake resistant and were not built according to building code due to a lack of licensed building professionals. High population density was also to blame for the high number of fatalities. One fourth of the country’s inhabitants lived in the Port-au-Prince area, meaning half of the country’s population was directly affected by the earthquake. Increasing extreme weather As global warming continues to accelerate climate change, it is estimated that natural catastrophes such as cyclones, rainfalls, landslides, and heat waves will intensify in the coming years and decades. For instance, the economic losses caused by natural disasters worldwide increased since 2015. Moreover, it is expected that countries in the Global South will be affected the most by climate change in the coming years, and many of these are already feeling the impact of climate change.

As of 2024, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which struck Japan in March 2011, remained the most expensive insured loss event since 1900, as it incurred insured losses amounting to 332 billion U.S. dollars. Insuring against natural disasters Insuring is the practice of transferring risk from one entity to another in exchange for payment. It is important, especially if one lives, owns property, or has a business in an area prone to natural disasters, to take out coverage for a range of storms, catastrophic events, and natural disasters. These could cause damage to real estate.When considering this type of insurance, it is indispensable to ask a lot of the important questions up front. How long will it take for a claim to be settled? For example, not all insurers settle claims with the same speed. Many also provide specific exclusions, be they for floods, earthquakes, or other types of natural events. A detailed inspection of exclusions in a policy is important to find out which coverage is still needed. Obviously, the extent of coverage that one should take out is wholly dependent on the area in which one lives. In the United States, as well as in the rest of the world, there are low-risk areas and there are high-risk areas.Despite this, no one can be sure where a natural disaster will occur and the severity of the destruction it could bring with it when it does. No one can stop natural disasters or the economic impact that they have, but insurance helps to mitigate the loss caused by them.