Earthquake Megathrust

From:  Megathrust Earthquakes

This is a list of megathrust earthquakes that have occurred. Megathrust earthquakes are large seismic events that take place along convergent plate boundaries, particularly at subduction zones. Examples of subduction zones include the Sumatra and Java trenches, Nankai Trough and Peru–Chile Trench which are frequent sources of these earthquakes.

Pre-11th century

Date Time‡ Location Fatalities Mag. Effects/notes More information
60 BC Portugal Cabo de San Vicente, Portugal 8.5 Possible tsunami. Considered the oldest record of an earthquake in the Portuguese earthquake catalogs.[1]
365 AD July 21 Greece Crete, Greece Unknown 8.6 Devastation in Cyrene & Alexandria by a tsunami. Uplift of up to 9 metres in Crete. Maximum intensity XI (Extreme). 365 Crete earthquake
684 AD November 29 Japan Nankai Trough, Japan 8.4 684 Hakuhō earthquake
869 AD July 13 Japan Sanriku, Japan 1,000+ 8.4–9.0 Major tsunami. Several hundred villages destroyed. 869 Jōgan earthquake
887 AD August 26 Japan Nankaido, Japan Unknown 8.6 Major tsunami recorded in Osaka Bay. Landslides reported. Tōkai earthquakes
1096 AD December 11 Japan Nankaido, Japan Unknown 8.4 Destructive earthquake and tsunami, damaging many homes and shrines.
1099 AD February 22 Japan Nankai Trough, Japan 8.4 Nankai earthquakes

11th–18th century

Date Time‡ Location Fatalities Mag. Effects/notes More information
August 8, 1303 “dawn” Greece Crete, Greece 4,000+ 8.0 Maximum intensity IX (Violent). Tsunami damage in Alexandria, Egypt and along the Syrian coast. Many buildings damaged in Cairo due to the earthquake. 1303 Crete earthquake
July 26, 1361 Japan Tokai region, Japan 8.5 1361 Shōhei earthquake
August 31, 1420 Peru Omate, Peru 8.5–9.0 1420 Caldera earthquake
September 20, 1498 08:00 Japan Nankaido, Japan 26,000 8.6 Major tsunami. 1498 Nankai earthquake
June 6, 1505    Nepal
 India		 8.2–8.9[2] At least 30% of the Nepalese population perished. Extreme damage in Nepal and northern India. 1505 Lo Mustang earthquake
December 16, 1575 18:30 Chile Valdivia, Chile 1,500 8.5 Maximum intensity X (Extreme). 1575 Valdivia earthquake
January 22, 1582 16:30 Peru Arequipa, Peru “many” 8.4 Maximum intensity X (Extreme). Many buildings collapsed or were severely damaged.
March 17, 1584 Peru Lima, Peru 8.4 Maximum intensity VII (Very strong). Severe damage in Lima.
June 10–11, 1585 18:30 Alaska Aleutian subduction zone, Alaska Unknown 9.25 Tsunami killed natives in the Hawaiian Islands and reported in Japan. 1585 Aleutian Islands earthquake
July 10, 1586 19:00 Peru Lima, Peru 22 8.5 Maximum intensity X (Extreme). 1,000 km by 120 km area of Peruvian coastline severely affected. A significant local tsunami was reported in Lima. The tsunami was confused with that of the Aleutian Islands event in tsunami catalogs. 1586 Lima-Callao earthquake
February 28, 1600 20:00 Peru Omate, Peru 8.1
November 24, 1604 18:30 Chile Arica, Chile 174 8.5–9.4 1604 Arica earthquake
February 3, 1605 20:00  Japan “thousands” 8.0 1605 Nankai earthquake
October 20, 1609 01:00  Peru 8.6
December 2, 1611 Japan Sanriku Coast, Japan 5,000 8.1 1611 Sanriku earthquake
February 14, 1619 16:30 Peru Trujillo, Peru 350 8.6
August 1, 1629 Dutch East Indies Banda Sea, Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) Unknown 8.2–8.8 Major tsunami. 1629 Banda Sea earthquake
May 14, 1647 02:30 ChileSantiago, Chile 1,000 8.5 1647 Santiago earthquake
March 15, 1657 20:00 Chile Concepción, Chile 40 8.0 Destructive tsunami. Concepción totally destroyed. 1657 Concepción earthquake
October 20, 1687 10:30 Peru Lima, Peru 5,000 8.7 8-meter tsunami in Peru. Tsunami reported in Japan. 1687 Peru earthquake
April 16, 1690 British Leeward Islands Leeward Islands 8.0 Maximum intensity IX.
January 27, 1700 05:00 United StatesCanada Cascadia subduction zone, United States and Canada 9.0–9.2 Tsunami in Japan and the Pacific Northwest. 1700 Cascadia earthquake
December 30, 1703 17:00 Japan Boso Peninsula, Japan 5,233 8.0 Maximum intensity IX. 1703 Genroku earthquake
October 28, 1707 14:00 (local time)  Japan 5,000 8.7–9.3 Tsunami 1707 Hōei earthquake
May 4, 1714 Bhutan Main Himalayan Thrust, Bhutan Unknown 7.5-8.5 [3] 1714 Bhutan earthquake
May 4, 1730 Chile Valparaíso, Chile Unknown 9.1–9.3 16-meter-high tsunami. 1730 Valparaíso earthquake
November 4, 1737 08:00 Russian Empire Kamchatka, Russian Empire 9.0–9.3 1737 Kamchatka earthquake
December 24, 1737 Chile Valdivia, Chile 8.0 1737 Valdivia earthquake
October 29, 1746 03:30 Peru Lima, Peru 1,141 8.6 1746 Lima-Callao earthquake
May 25, 1751 01:00 Chile Concepción, Chile 8.5 1751 Concepción earthquake
November 1, 1755 09:30 Portugal Lisbon, Portugal 50,000 8.7–9.0 Tsunami. 1755 Lisbon earthquake
March 30, 1761 23:01 Unknown 8.0–8.5 Tsunami. 1761 Lisbon earthquake
January 22, 1780 Indonesia Java, Indonesia 8.5[4] Severe damage
April 3, 1787 23:01 Spain Oaxaca, New Spain (now Mexico) 11 8.6 Tsunami. 1787 New Spain earthquake
July and August, 1788 Russia Alaska Peninsula, Alaska, Russia (now United States) Unknown 8.0 Intensity VII. Major tsunami, 10 to 30 meters high. Many native Russians killed. The second earthquake triggered a 91-meter tsunami. Thought to be one earthquake rather than two.[5]
22 August 1792 Russia Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia Unknown 8.25 [6]
10 February 1797 Indonesia Sumatra, Indonesia 300 8.4 [7] 1797 Sumatra earthquake

19th century

Date Time‡ Location Fatalities Mag. Effects/notes More information
4 April 1819 Chile Copiapó, Chile Unknown 8.5 Ms [8] Copiapó totally destroyed by the earthquake. Caldera suffered massive damage. Minor tsunami. 1819 Copiapó earthquake
20 November 1822 Chile Valparaíso Region, Chile 72-300+ 8.5 Ms [8] 1822 Valparaíso earthquake
25 November 1833 Indonesia Sumatra, Indonesia Numerous 8.8–9.2 Destructive tsunami. 1833 Sumatra earthquake
20 February 1835 Chile Concepción, Chile 50+ 8.5 Ms [8] Large tsunami. 1835 Concepción earthquake
20 February 1835 Chile Valdivia, Chile 8.5 Ms [8] 1837 Valdivia earthquake
11 January 1839 Morning  Martinique, Lesser Antilles 390–4,000 8.0 1839 Martinique earthquake
17 May 1841 Russia Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 8.4 6-meter tsunami. 1841 Kamchatka earthquake
8 February 1843 10:37  Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles 1,500–5,000 8.5 1843 Guadeloupe earthquake
7 April 1845 10:37 Mexico Oaxaca and Guerrero, Mexico Unknown 8.0 Felt strongly in Mexico City, resulting in significant damage.[9]
25 November 1852 22:40 Dutch East Indies Banda Islands, Banda Sea, Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) 60+ 8.4–8.8 Tsunami up to 8 meters tall. Felt IX in Banda Neira.
23 December 1854 16:00 Japan Nankai Trough, Japan 5,000+ 8.4 Major damage caused by tsunami inundation. 1854 Nankai earthquake

1854 Tōkai earthquake

Ansei great earthquakes
24 December 1854 09:00 8.4
16 February 1861 Indonesia Sumatra, Indonesia Thousands 8.5 1861 Sumatra earthquake
17 November 1865 Tonga Pacific Ocean, Tonga 0 8.0 Felt in ships as well. Two-meter tsunami caused limited damage.[10]
13 August 1868 Peru Arica, Peru (now part of Chile) 25,000 8.5-9.3 1868 Arica earthquake
1873  Papua New Guinea “Some” 8.0 Felt IX. Some damage to villages and people killed. Minor tsunami.
28 March 1875 New Caledonia Pacific Ocean, New Caledonia 25+ 8.1–8.2[11] Four-meter tsunami caused at least 25 deaths.
9 May 1877 21:16 Chile Iquique, Chile 2,385 8.9 Fiji accounts for most of the deaths attributed to the tsunami. 1877 Iquique earthquake
7 September 1882 03:20 (local time) Panama San Blas Islands, Panama 250 8.3 Destructive tsunami 1882 Panama earthquake
6 September 1889 12:00 Indonesia Celebes Sea, Indonesia 8.0 Damaging tsunami up to 4 meters in height.
15 June 1896 10:33 Japan Sanriku, Japan 27,122 8.6 Weakly felt earthquake but a major tsunami up to 38 meters in height. 1896 Sanriku earthquake
10 September 1899 Alaska Yakutat Bay, Alaska 0 8.2
8.2		 Large coastal uplift and tsunami. 1899 Yakutat Bay earthquakes

20th century

Date Time‡ Location Fatalities Mag. Effects/notes More information
22 September 1902 01:46 United States Guam, United States 0 8.1 Felt IX. No tsunami.
27 February 1903 01:46 Indonesia Java, Indonesia 0 8.1
31 January 1906 15:36  Ecuador
 Colombia		 500–1,000 8.8 [12] 1906 Ecuador-Colombia earthquake
17 August 1906 00:40 Chile Valparaíso, Chile 4,000 8.2 [13] 1906 Valparaíso earthquake
14 September 1906 16:04 Papua New Guinea Finisterre Range, Papua New Guinea “Hundreds” 8.0 [14] Felt X. Many landslides and tsunamis triggered.[15]
4 January 1907 12:20 (local time) Indonesia Nias Island, Indonesia 2,188 8.2 [16] Destructive tsunami, up to 15 meters high, killing most of the inhabitants. 1907 Sumatra earthquake
26 June 1917 05:49 (local time) Samoa Pacific Ocean, Samoa 2 8.5 Mw [17] 12.2-meter tsunami. 1917 Samoa earthquake
15 August 1918 20:18 (local time) Philippines Mindanao, Philippines 52 8.3 Mw [18] 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake
10 November 1922 23:53 (local time) Chile Atacama Region, Chile ~500 8.5 Mw [19][20] 1922 Vallenar earthquake
3 February 1923 04:01 (local time) Russia Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 3 8.4 Ms [21] Felt XI. Tsunami. February 1923 Kamchatka earthquake
14 April 1923 02:31 (local time) Russia Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 36 8.2 Mw [22] Felt X. Tsunami up to 30 meters. April 1923 Kamchatka earthquake
1 September 1923 11:58 (local time) Japan Kantō Plain, Japan 148,000 8.1 Mw [23] Felt XI. A conflagration and firenado killed tens of thousands in the Kantō Plain. Tsunami up to 12 meters caused extensive damage. One of the deadliest earthquakes in human history. 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
14 April 1924 16:20 Philippines Mindanao, Philippines 0 8.0 Mw [24]
3 June 1932 04:36 Mexico Jalisco, Mexico 400+ 8.1 Mw [25] Multiple mainshocks. 1932 Jalisco earthquakes
15 January 1934 08:43 NepalIndia Himalayas, Nepal and India 12,000 8.0 Mw [26] Major damage in both countries. Widespread liquefaction. 1934 Nepal-India earthquake
24 May 1940 11:35 Peru Lima, Peru 300 8.2 Mw [27] Majority of the deaths were from Callao and Lima. 1940 Lima earthquake
13 May 1942 21:13 (local time) Ecuador Manabí Province, Ecuador 200+ 8.3 Ms [28] 1942 Ecuador earthquake
24 August 1942 17:40 (local time) Peru Lima, Peru 30 8.1 Mw [29] 1942 Peru earthquake
6 April 1943 12:07 (local time) Chile Coquimbo Region, Chile 11 8.1 Mw [30] 1943 Ovalle earthquake
7 December 1944 13:35 (local time) Japan Tōkai region, Japan 3,538 8.1 Mw [31] 1944 Tōnankai earthquake
28 November 1945 01:26 (local time) British Raj Balochistan, British India (present–day Pakistan) 4,000 8.0 Mw [32] Tsunami. 1945 Balochistan earthquake
1 April 1946 03:29 (local time) Alaska Aleutian Islands, Alaska 173 8.6 Mw [33] Majority of the deaths was the result of the tsunami hitting Hawaii. One tsunami fatality in California. 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake
21 December 1946 04:19 (local time) Japan Nankaidō, Japan 1,362+ 8.3 Mw [34] 1946 Nankai earthquake
15 August 1950 19:39 (local time) IndiaTibet Mishmi Hills, India and Tibet 4,800 8.6 Mw [35] One of the largest earthquake on land. 1950 Assam-Tibet earthquake
4 March 1952 10:22 (local time) Japan Hokkaido, Japan 33 8.1 Mw [36] 1952 Tokachi earthquake
5 November 1952 03:58 (local time) Russia Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 2,500 9.0 Mw [37] 5th largest in recorded history. 1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake
9 March 1957 04:22 (local time) Alaska Andreanof Islands, Alaska 0 8.6 Mw [38] 1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake
21 May 1960 06:02 (local time) Chile Concepción, Chile 125 8.1 Mw [39] Foreshock to the next earthquake on 22 May. 1960 Concepción earthquakes
22 May 1960 15:11 (local time) Chile Valdivia, Chile 1,000–7,000 9.5 Mw [40] The largest earthquake in recorded history. 1960 Valdivia earthquake
13 October 1963 15:17 (local time) Soviet Union Kuril Islands, USSR (present-day Russia) 0 8.5 Mw [41] One of the largest earthquake in recorded history. 1963 Kuril Islands earthquake
27 March 1964 17:36 (local time) Alaska Prince William Sound, Alaska 131 9.2 Mw [42] The second largest earthquake in recorded history. 1964 Alaska earthquake
24 January 1965 09:11 (local time) Indonesia North Maluku, Indonesia 71 8.2 Mw [43] 1965 Ceram Sea earthquake
3 February 1965 19:01 (local time) Alaska Rat Islands, Alaska 0 8.7 Mw [44] One of the largest earthquake in recorded history. 1965 Rat Islands earthquake
17 October 1966 16:42 (local time) Peru Huacho, Peru 100 8.1 Mw [45] 1966 Peru earthquake
16 May 1968 09:49 (local time) Japan Hokkaido, Japan 47–57 8.2 Mw [46] 1968 Tokachi earthquake
11 August 1969 21:27 (local time) Soviet Union Kuril Islands, USSR 0 8.2 Mw [47]
3 October 1974 09:21 (local time) Peru Lima, Peru 78 8.1 Mw [17] 1974 Lima earthquake
14 January 1976 16:47 New Zealand Kermadec Islands, New Zealand 0 8.0 Ms [48]
16 August 1976 00:11 (local time) Philippines Mindanao, Philippines 5,000–7,000 8.0 Mw [17] 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake
12 December 1977 02:59 (local time)  Ecuador
 Colombia		 300–600 8.2 Mw [49] 1979 Tumaco earthquake
3 March 1985 19:47 (local time) Chile Valparaíso Region, Chile 177 8.0 Mw [50] 1985 Algarrobo earthquake
19 September 1985 07:17 (local time) Mexico Michoacan, Mexico 9,500–45,000 8.0 Mw [51] 1985 Mexico City earthquake
30 July 1995 14:59 (local time) Chile Antofagasta, Chile 2 8.0 Mw [52] 1995 Antofagasta earthquake
9 October 1995 10:35 (local time) Mexico Jalisco, Mexico 49–58 8.0 Mw [53] 1995 Colima-Jalisco earthquake
17 February 1996 14:59 (local time) Indonesia Irian Jaya, Indonesia 166 8.1 Mw [54] 1996 Biak earthquake

21st century

Date Time‡ Location Fatalities Mag. Effects/notes More information
23 June 2001 15:33 (local time) Peru Department of Arequipa, Peru 74 8.4 Mw [55] 2001 southern Peru earthquake
26 September 2003 04:50 (local time) Japan Hokkaido, Japan 0 8.2 Mw [56] Two missing, more than 840 injured. 2003 Tokachi earthquake
26 December 2004 07:58 (local time) Indonesia Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia 227,898 9.1 Mw [57] Indian Ocean basin-wide by teletsunami. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
28 March 2005 23:09 (local time) Indonesia Nias and Simeulue, North Sumatra, Indonesia 915–1,314 8.6 Mw [58] 2005 Nias-Simeulue earthquake
15 November 2006 08:14 (local time) Russia Kuril Islands, Russia 0 8.3 Mw [59] 2006 Kuril Islands earthquake
2 April 2007 07:39 (local time)  Solomon Islands 52 8.1 Mw [60] At least 60 missing. 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake
15 August 2007 18:40 (local time) Peru Department of Ica, Peru 519 8.0 Mw [61] 2007 Peru earthquake
12 September 2007 18:10 (local time) Indonesia Bengkulu, Indonesia 23 8.4 Mw [62] September 2007 Sumatra earthquakes
29 September 2009 06:48 (local time) SamoaAmerican Samoa near Samoa and American Samoa, Pacific Ocean 192 8.1 Mw [63] Doublet earthquake rupturing an outer rise normal fault and the megathrust.[64] 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami
27 February 2010 03:34 (local time) Chile Maule Region, Chile 525 8.8 Mw [65] 2010 Chile earthquake
11 March 2011 14:46 (local time) Japan Tohoku region, Japan 16,000–20,000 9.1 Mw [66] More than 2,550 missing. One death each in Papua, Indonesia and California by tsunami. 2011 Tokohu earthquake and tsunami
6 February 2013 12:12 (local time) Solomon Islands Temotu Province, Solomon Islands 9 8.0 Mw [67] 2013 Solomon Islands earthquake
1 April 2014 20:46 (local time) Chile Iquique, Chile 6 8.2 Mw [68] 2014 Iquique earthquake
16 September 2015 19:54 (local time) Chile Coquimbo Region, Chile 16 8.3 Mw [69] At least 6 missing in Chile. 2015 Illapel earthquake
4 March 2021 08:28 (local time) New Zealand Kermadec Islands, New Zealand 0 8.1 Mw [70] Was preceded by an Mw  7.4 foreshock and unrelated Mw  7.3 event a few hours earlier. 2021 Kermadec Islands earthquake
29 July 2021 22:15 (local time) United States Alaska, United States 0 8.2 Mw [71] Was preceded by two foreshocks in 2020—Mw 7.8 and 7.6. 2021 Chignik earthquake
12 August 2021 16:35 (local time) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands 0 8.1 Mw [72] Complex earthquake with multiple subevents, including one that was characterized as a tsunami earthquake. Earthquake released seismic energy in the form of low-frequency seismic waves with a period of 500 seconds.[73] 2021 South Sandwich Islands earthquakes

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