World’s strongest earthquakes and tsunamis

Here is a factbox showing the 10 strongest earthquakes recorded since 1900,by order of magnitude.

A magnitude 8.9 quake strikes off the northeast coast of Japan,sending a tsunami across the Pacific and killing a still-undetermined number of people.

Here is a factbox showing the strongest earthquakes and tsunamis recorded since 1700.

Graphic: How tsunamis happen

October 2010 A volcanic eruption and a tsunami kill more than 500 people in Indonesia.

February 2010 A 8.8 magnitude quake shakes Chile,generating a tsunami and killing 524 people.

September 2009 A magnitude 8.0 earthquake unleashes tsunamis of up to 40 feet (12 meters) and killing 194 people in the South Pacific,including 34 in American Samoa.

September 2007 A 7.8 magnitude earthquake rattles Sumatra island,triggering regional tsunami alerts and damaging scores of buildings.

September 2007 An earthquake measured at a magnitude of 8.4 near Sumatra triggers a wave in the coastal city of Padang. The tremor kills at least 25 people and injures around 50.

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April 2007 At least 28 people in the Solomon Islands die in a tsunami and earthquake measured at a magnitude of 8.1.

July 2006 A magnitude 6.1 earthquake triggers a tsunami off Java island’s southern coast,killing at least 600 people.

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

December 2004 An Indian Ocean tsunami,triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake,kills 230,000 in a dozen countries.

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August 1976 A magnitude 8.0 earthquake hits near the islands of Mindanao and Sulu in the Philippines,generating a tsunami and leaving at least 5,000 dead.

March 1964 A 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Prince William Sound,Alaska,kills 131 people,including 128 from a tsunami.

May 1960 A magnitude 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile and ensuing tsunami kill at least 1,716 people.

November 1952 A magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka causes damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 30-foot (9.1-meter) waves in Hawaii.

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August 1950 A magnitude 8.6 earthquake in Assam,Tibet,kills at least 780 people.

April 1946 An earthquake measured at a magnitude of 8.1 near Unimak Islands,Alaska,triggers a tsunami,killing 165 people,mostly in Hawaii.

January 1906 A magnitude 8.8 quake off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia generates a tsunami that kills at least 500 people.

August 1868 A magnitude 9.0 quake in Arica,Peru (now Chile) generates catastrophic tsunamis; more than 25,000 people were killed in South America.

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April 1868 A 7.9-magnitude earthquake strikes the Big Island,Hawaii,killing 77 people,including 46 from a tsunami.

November 1755 A magnitude 8.7 quake and ensuing tsunami in Lisbon,Portugal,kill an estimated 60,000 people and destroy much of Lisbon.

July 1730 A magnitude 8.7 quake in Valparasio,Chile,kills at least 3,000 people.

January 1700 A magnitude 9.0 quake shakes present-day Northern California,Oregon,Washington and British Colombia and triggers tsunami that damages villages in Japan.