A glance at the world’s deadliest earthquakes since 2000

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/02/2023 (1280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing more than 4,000 people in the two countries. The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers working in cold and snow look for trapped people in the rubble of toppled buildings.

Here are some of the world’s deadliest earthquakes since 2000:

___

— June 22, 2022: In Afghanistan, more than 1,100 people die in magnitude 6.1 earthquake.

— Aug. 14, 2021: In Haiti, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake kills more than 2,200 people.

— Sept. 28, 2018: A magnitude 7.5 earthquake hits Indonesia, killing more than 4,300 people.

— April 25, 2015: In Nepal, more than 8,800 people are killed by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

— March 11, 2011: A magnitude 9.0 quake off the northeast coast of Japan triggers a tsunami, killing nearly 20,000 people.

— Jan. 12, 2010: In Haiti, a staggering 316,000 people are killed by a magnitude 7.0 quake, according to government estimates.

— May 12, 2008: A magnitude 7.9 quake strikes eastern Sichuan in China, resulting in over 87,500 deaths.

— May 26, 2006: More than 5,700 people die when a magnitude 6.3 quake hits the island of Java, Indonesia.

— Oct. 8, 2005: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake kills over 80,000 people in Pakistan’s Kashmir region.

— March 28, 2005: A magnitude 8.6 quake in northern Sumatra in Indonesia kills about 1,300 people.

— Dec. 26, 2004: A magnitude 9.1 quake in Indonesia triggers an Indian Ocean tsunami, killing 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

— Dec. 26, 2003: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits southeastern Iran, resulting in 50,000 deaths.

— May 21, 2003: More than 2,200 people are killed in a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Algeria.

— Jan. 26, 2001: A magnitude 7.7 quake strikes Gujarat in India, killing 20,000 people.

___

Source: U.S. Geological Survey

___

This story has been corrected to show that nearly 20,000 people died in the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Japan, not more than 20,000.