~ Extreme Earthquakes that Shook the World ~
LOCATION
DATE
DEATH TOLL
Shansi, China
January 23,
1556
830,000
MAGNITUDE
?
Unknown
?
OTHER INFO
Deadliest quake
ever!
Series of 4
quakes. Land
shifts added
waterfalls to the
Mississippi River.
Fires were
responsible for
about 200 deaths
New Madrid,
Missouri (USA)
December 16,
1811
Less than 100
~ 8.0
San Francisco,
California
April 18, 1906
700
~ 8.3
Kwanto, Japan
September 1,
1923
143,000
~ 8.3
Caused the Great
Tokyo Fire
5.9
Occurred at a
shallow depth,
just under the city
Agadir,
Morocco
Chile, South
America
February 29,
1960
Up to 15,000
May 22, 1960
Up to 5,000
9.5
Prince William
Sound, Alaska
(USA)
March 28,
1964
125
9.2
Iran
June 20, 1990
50,000
7.7
Northridge,
California
(USA)
January 17,
1994
61
6.8
Kobe, Japan
January 17,
1995
5,502
6.9
Indian Ocean
December 26,
2004
230,000+
9.1
Port–auPrince, Haiti
Tohoku, Japan
January 12,
2010
March 11,
2011
316,000
15,854
(3,155 missing)
Largest known
quake. Tsunami
killed people in
Hawaii and Japan.
Largest quake in
U.S. history. Most
deaths caused by
a tsunami.
This earthquake
caused deadly
landslides.
Caused $20
billion in damage.
Soil beneath
epicenter shook
like liquid
(liquefaction)
Tsunami waves
killed people in
14 countries
7.0
Building collapse
was the major
cause of death.
9.0
Most deaths
occurred due to
tsunami waves.
Questions: Extreme Earthquakes that Shook the World
Name: ___________________________________________________________ Section: ___________
Directions: Write the letter for your answer on the line before each
question.
__________1. Where was the strongest known earthquake – the quake
with the highest magnitude? (magnitude = amount of energy released)
A) Shansi, China
B) Chile
C) Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA
__________ 2. When was the deadliest earthquake (highest death toll)?
A) May 22, 1960
B) June 20, 1990
C) January 23, 1556
__________ 3. What was the magnitude of the most recent earthquake on
this chart, that occurred in the year 2011?
A) 15,854
B) 9.0
C) unknown
__________ 4. How many earthquakes listed in the chart have a magnitude
of 9.0 or above?
A) 0
B) 2
C) 4
__________ 5. How did the earthquake in Chile, South America kill people
far away in Hawaii and Japan?
A) A tsunami wave traveled across the ocean.
B) The shaking was so strong that it shook down buildings in both
places.
C) When a quake that big happens, it can cause a chain reaction of all
over the world.
_________ 6. Where was the quake with the lowest magnitude on this
chart?
A) Kobe, Japan
B) San Francisco, California, USA
C) Agadir, Morocco
__________ 7. Why did the quake from question #6 above kill so many
people?
A) It happened in winter.
B) The quake was shallow and was located right under the city.
C) Not much was known about earthquake safety in 1960.
__________ 8. Do earthquakes of the same/similar magnitude usually
cause about the same number of deaths? (Find examples in the chart.)
A) Yes
B) No
__________ 9. Which of the following can contribute to earthquake deaths?
A) Landslides
B) Tsunamis
C) Fires
D) All of the above
__________ 10. If the New Madrid, Missouri area had a magnitude 8.0
earthquake today, would you expect the same, more, or fewer people to
get hurt?
A) More because more people live there now.
B) Fewer because pretty much any modern building built today is
earthquake-proof.
C) About the same, because the magnitude and location is the same.
__________ 11. Where was the second most deadly earthquake in history?
A) Iran
B) Port-au-Prince, Haiti
C) San Francisco, California
12. Compare and contrast the Alaskan (9.2) and Indian Ocean (9.1)
earthquakes on the chart. Why was there such a difference in the death
toll from those two earthquakes that were so similar in magnitude?
Write your answer below: