In total, 18,000 people lost their lives from the earthquake and tsunami. The high waves also damaged Fukushima’s Nuclear Plant’s emergency diesel generators leading to reactor meltdowns, and a release of radioactive waste. March 11, 2011: Another undersea earthquake-also 9.1 magnitude-occurred off the coast of Japan, triggering a deadly tsunami which flattened parts of the country 30 minutes later. In Syria, international sanctions prevented foreign charities and families from sending money to the country, which led to the U.S. Bad weather conditions-including snow, ice, and winter storms-inhibited search and rescue efforts. Rankįebruary 6, 2023: Two earthquakes, also with shallow epicenters (5 miles deep), hit the border region between Türkiye and Syria, causing widespread damage in both countries and claiming more than 50,000 lives.

Here’s a list of the deadliest earthquakes, by death toll, in the 21st century. It triggered the worst tsunami recorded in history, causing 230,000 deaths mainly in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India. It was the strongest earthquake in this century and the third-most powerful since 1900. Indonesia, 2004ĭecember 26th, 2004: A 9.1 earthquake occurred off the coast of Indonesia, deep under the ocean. In 2017, the UN reported 2.5 million Haitians still required aid. The extensive destruction led to global support, but slow recovery sparked criticism of government inaction. By the end of the month, after 52 aftershocks rocked the island, the disaster had claimed more than 300,000 lives-the deadliest earthquake in the 21st century thus far. The earthquake’s shallow epicenter-only six miles beneath the surface-caused most of the force to be directed close to where people lived. On January 12th, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the capital Port-au-Prince. We delve into some of the deadliest earthquakes in recent history. This includes casualties from secondary events-like tsunamis-after each earthquake.

With these recent events in mind, we use data from the National Centers for Environment Information ( NCES) to map out the epicenters of the nine deadliest earthquakes in the 21st century so far, by their total death toll.

With its epicenter located in the Atlas Mountains and structural damage being done to the historical city center of Marrakesh, the 6.8-magnitude quake will likely have a death toll in the thousands. On September 8, 2023, a powerful earthquake rocked Morocco. Mapped: The Deadliest Earthquakes of the 21st Century

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