Top 10 most destructive tsunamis in recent history
china.org.cn / chinagate.cn, April 4, 2014 Adjust font size:
A powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Northern Chile on Tuesday, setting off a small tsunami that forced evacuations along the country's entire Pacific coast.
In the past few decades, our ability to investigate, predict and record tsunamis has reached new heights, but tsunamis still cause wide spread damage in the areas where they strike.
The following is a list of the 10 most destructive tsunamis in recent history.
1964 Alaska earthquake and tsunami
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The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake and Good Friday Earthquake, took place on Mar. 27, 1964. It had a moment magnitude of 9.2, making it the second strongest earthquake in recorded history.
The earthquake triggered devastating tsunamis in over 20 countries, including Peru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Japan, and Antarctica. The largest tsunami wave was recorded in Shoup Bay, Alaska, with a height of about 67 meters.
Sources indicate that about 139 people died as a result of the earthquake, 15 died as a result of the earthquake itself, 106 died from the subsequent tsunami in Alaska, 5 died from the tsunami in Oregon, and 13 died from the tsunami in California.
