Deadliest Earthquakes

Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder,
and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest,
and the flame of devouring fire.

Isaiah 29:6

When giving the Olivet Prophecy, Jesus warned that at the time of the end there would be “earthquakes in divers places” (Mt.24:7). Today such natural disasters have become commonplace in our world. Although there are virtually thousands of quakes every year around the globe, some unleash tremendous devastation resulting in the loss of thousands of lives. Below is a timeline of the greatest earthquakes of the twentieth century.

• Dec 28, 1908 — A magnitude-7.2 earthquake kills 123,000 people in the Messina-Reggio Calabria area of eastern Sicily and southernmost Italy.
• Jan. 13, 1915 — An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 leaves 29,980 dead in Avezzano, Italy.
• Dec. 16, 1920 — Gansu, China is hit with an earthquake reaching magnitude 8.6 that kills 200,000 people.
• Sept. 1, 1923 — A temblor of 8.3 magnitude in Japan destroys one-third of Tokyo and most of Yokohama. More than 140,000 are killed.
• May 22, 1927 — An earthquake reaching 7.9 magnitude hits near Xining, China and kills approximately 200,000.
• Dec. 25, 1932 — Approximately 70,000 people are killed after an earthquake reaching 7.6 magnitude hits the Gansu region in China.
• May 30, 1935 — A magnitude 7.5 temblor strikes Quetta, Pakistan, killing more than 30,000 people.
• Jan. 24, 1939 — An earthquake of 8.3 magnitude in Chile kills roughly 28,000 people.
• Dec. 27, 1939 — More than 32,000 die in the Erzincan province in eastern Turkey during a 7.9-magnitude quake.
• Oct. 5, 1948 — An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude in Turkmenistan kills over 110,000 people.
• Aug. 15, 1950 — Up to 30,000 are estimated to have been killed in an earthquake of 8.6 magnitude in Assam, India.
• May 31, 1970 — An earthquake reaching a magnitude of 7.9 in Peru leaves over 60,000 dead.
• Nov. 13, 1970 — A cyclone in the Ganges Delta of Bangladesh kills at least 300,000 people.
• Feb. 4, 1976 — A series of earthquakes reaching a magnitude of 7.5 in Guatemala leave over 23,000 dead.
• July 28, 1976 — The worst earthquake to hit China in 20th century with an estimated magnitude at between 7.8 and 8.2 leaves more than 240,000 dead in Tangshan.
• Sept. 16, 1978 — An earthquake of 7.7 magnitude in Tabas, Iran kills 25,000 people.
• Nov. 14-16, 1985 — Volcanic eruption of Nevada del Ruiz near Bogota, Colombia, kills approximately 25,000 people.
• Dec. 7, 1988 — A 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Armenia kills nearly 25,000.
• June 21, 1990 — An earthquake of 7.7 magnitude in northwest Iran destroys cities and villages in Caspian Sea area and kills at least 50,000 people.
• Sept. 30, 1993 — As many as 10,000 are killed from an earthquake of 6.0 magnitude that struck the state of Maharashtra in India.
• Aug. 17, 1999 — More than 17,000 are killed as a magnitude-7.4 quake hits western Turkey.
• Dec. 26, 2003 — More than 26,000 killed after an earthquake of 6.5 magnitude strikes the ancient historic city of Bam in southeast Iran.
• Dec. 26, 2004 — A 9.0 earthquake off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island launches tsunami waves that slam shorelines in Asia and Africa, killing more than 200,000 people.
• October 7, 2005 — More than 30,000 killed and 41,000 injured after an earthquake of 7.6 magnitude strikes ISLAMABAD, Pakistan.