Previous Disasters - On This Day
- Disaster Watch page
Get Quake information for any date from http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/history/ .
Summary of all types of big disasters on dates from August 25 through January 26 are below:
1/26 -
In 1531 - a quake of unmeasured intensity struck Lisbon, Portugal. 30,000 deaths.
In 1700 - a 9+ quake struck the Cascadia Subduction Zone (North American West Coast) This earthquake, the largest known to have occurred in the "lower 48" United States, created a tsunami that destroyed Japanese coastal villages.
In 1985 - a 6.0 quake struck Mendoza Province, Argentina. Six people killed.
In 1987 - a 4.9 quake struck Algeria. One person killed.
In 1993 - a 5.6 quake struck Yunnan, China 5.6. At least 66 people injured.
In 2001 - a 7.7 quake struck India. At least 20,005 people killed.
1/25 -
In 1348 - an earthquake struck Austria, 5,000 deaths.
In 1939 - an 8.3 earthquake struck Chillan, Chile. 28,000 deaths.
In 1975 - a 7.0 and a 7.5 quake struck Taiwan.
In 1999 - a 6.4 quake struck Colombia 6.4. At least 1,185 people killed, 250,000 homeless.
1/24 -
In 1948 - an 8.2 quake struck the Philippine Islands, 72 killed.
1/23 -
In 1556 - a quake struck Shansi, China. It caused the worst quake death toll in history: 830,000.
In 1812 - a 7.6 quake struck the New Madrid Area, U.S.
In 1855 - an 8.2 quake struck Wellington, New Zealand.
In 1909 - a 7.3 quake struck Iran, 5500 dead.
In 1966 - a 5.1 quake struck near Dulce, New Mexico.
In 1981 - a 6.8 quake struck Sichuan Province, China. One hundred fifty people killed.
1/19 -
In 1975 - a 6.8 quake struck the Kashmir-Tibet Border Region, 42 died.
In 1981 - a 6.8 quake struck Irian Jaya, Indonesia. 305 people killed.
In 1995 - a 6.6 quake struck Colombia, 5 died.
1/18 -
In 1982 - a 7.0 quake struck the Aegean Sea. Felt strongly throughout Greece. Felt in Bulgaria, southeastern Italy, southeastern Yugoslavia and western Turkey.
1/17 -
In 1903 - a 7.0 quake struck the Andreanof Islands, Alaska.
In 1994 - a 6.7 quake struck Northridge, California, killing 61 and injuring over 10,000.
1/16 -
In 1889 – Cloncurry, Queensland, recorded a temperature of 53.1 celsius, highest known in Australia.
In 1979 - a 6.7 quake struck Iran. At least 200 people reported killed, many injured and considerable damage in Bonzonabad and surrounding areas.
In 1994 - a 4.6 quake struck Pennsylvania. The largest historical earthquake in Pennsylvania.
In 1995 - a 6.9 quake struck Kobe, Japan. Five thousand five hundred two people confirmed killed, 36,896 injured and extensive damage.
1/15 -
In 1900 – Bubonic plague was reported in Adelaide, Australia after spreading from China to India and Noumea; on January 19, the first case was reported in Sydney: 103 died.
In 1934 - an 8.4 quake struck Bihar-Nepal, India. 10,700 deaths.
In 1944 - a 7.8 quake struck Argentina. 5,000 dead.
In 1968 - a 6.0 quake struck Sicily. 216 killed.
In 1993 - a 7.6 quake struck the Hokkaido, Japan Region. Two people killed.
1/12 -
In 1896 – this was the start of 13-day heat wave in Bourke, New South Wales, Australia, with daily average temperatures of 47C; a total of 47 people died.
In 1945 - a 7.1 quake struck Mikawa, Japan. 1,900 deaths.
In 1982 - a 6.2 quake struck Honduras. Two people injured.
In 1993 - a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan, killing 196 people.
1/11 -
In 1693 - a quake struck Sicily, Italy. 60,000 deaths.
In 1962 – an avalanche buried a village in the Peruvian Andes, and 3,000 people were killed.
In 1982 - a 7.4 quake struck Luzon, Philippine Islands.
In 1997 - a 7.1 quake struck Michoacan, Mexico. One killed, extensive damage.
1/5 -
In 1843 - a 4.8 quake struck Northeast Arkansas.
In 1953 - a 7.1 quake struck Near Islands, Alaska.
1/4 -
In 1970 - a 7.5 quake struck Yunnan Province, China, 10,000 killed.
1/3 -
In 1911 - an 8.2 quake struck Kyrgyzstan, Chong-Kemin (Russia, Turkestan, Bol'shoy Kemin). Over 450 killed.
1/2 -
In 1999 - a 4.5 quake struck Sichuan, China 4.5. Two people injured and some livestock killed.
1/1 -
In 1902 - a 7.0 quake struck the Fox Islands, Alaska.
In 1980 - a 7.2 quake struck the Azores Islands. At least 56 people killed, 400 or more injured and
extensive damage.
In 1996 - a 7.9 quake struck the Minahassa Peninsula, Sulawesi. At least eight people killed.
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12/31 -
In 1901 - a 7.1 quake struck Cook Inlet, Alaska.
12/30 -
In 1983 - a 7.2 quake struck the Hindu Kush Region. Twelve people killed,
483 injured and extensive damage.
In 1984 - a 5.6 quake struck the India-Bangladesh Border Region. Twenty
people killed, about 100 injured, 10,000 homeless and extensive damage.
12/29 -
In 1973 - a 7.2 quake struck New Hebrides Islands about 2,000 kilometers
northeast of Brisbane, Australia.
12/28 -
In 1908 - a 7.2 quake struck Messina, Italy. Estimated 70,000 to 100,000
deaths from the earthquake and
a tsunami.
In 1973 - a 7.8 quake struck the New Hebrides Islands about 2,000
kilometers northeast of Brisbane,
Australia.
In 1974 - a 6.2 quake struck Pakistan. The most destructive earthquake of
1974. 5,300 reported killed,
17,000 injured.
In 1994 - a 7.7 quake struck off the east Coast of Honshu, Japan. Two people
were killed, more than 200
injured.
12/27 -
In 1989 - a 5.4 quake struck near the Southeast Coast of Australia. Twelve
people were killed, more than 100 injured and an
estimated 1.1 billion U.S. dollars damage occurred. Believed to be the first
earthquake in Australian history that has caused
deaths.
12/23 -
In 1906 - a 7.3 quake struck Kodiak Island, Alaska.
In 1972 – a 6.2 earthquake struck Managua, Nicaragua, killing 10,000.
$800,000,000 in damages. Hundreds of aftershocks were reported, but only
two exceeded magnitude 5, and these occurred within an hour of the main
shock.
In 1985 - a 6.9 quake struck the Northwest Territories, Canada.
In 2004 – an 8.1 earthquake shook the ocean floor between Australia and
Antarctica, causing buildings to shake in Tasmania, but no injuries were
reported.
12/22 -
In 856 - a huge quake struck Damghan, Iran. 200,000 deaths.
In 1983 - a 6.4 quake struck Northwest Africa. 443 deaths.
12/21 -
In 1812 - a 7.1 quake struck Santa Barbara Channel, California.
In 1932 - a 7.2 quake struck Cedar Mountain, Nevada.
In 1967 - a 7.0 quake struck near the Coast of Northern Chile, 1 killed.
12/20 -
In 1940 - a 5.5 quake struck near Ossipee Lake, New Hampshire.
In 1942 - a 7.3 quake struck Turkey, 3000 dead.
In 1946 - a 8.4 Tonankai, Japan. 10-foot sea wave along eastern shore of
Shikoku and Honshu with very extensive property damage in the same
regions. 1,330 deaths.
12/19 -
In 1977 - a 5.8 quake struck Iran wiping out several villages. It was the 4th
destructive quake to hit Iran that year.
In 1981 - a 7.6 quake struck the Aegean Sea.
12/18 -
In
12/17 -
12/16 -
In 1811 - a 7.7 quake struck New Madrid, Missouri.
In 1857 - a 7.0 quake struck Southern Italy.
In 1902 - a 6.4 quake struck Turkestan. 4,500 deaths.
In 1920 - an 8.2 quake struck Gansu Province, China, one of the deadliest
quakes in history, it killed 200,000.
In 1954 - a 7.3 quake struck Dixie Valley, Nevada.
In 1982 - a 6.9 quake struck the Hindu Kush Region. Four hundred fifty people
killed.
12/15 -
In 1872 - a 7.3 quake struck near Lake Chelan, Washington.
12/14 -
In 1978 - a 6.3 quake struck Iran, 67 killed.
12/13 -
In 1957 – An estimated 1,130 people were killed by a 7.3 earthquake in
western Iran. Farsinaj, a village at the epicentre of the temblor, was
completely destroyed.
In 1982 – An earthquake measuring 6.0 on Richter scale killed 3,000 people
and injured 2,000 in Yemen. 700,000 homeless and about 300 villages
destroyed or badly damaged.
In 1990 - a 5.5 quake struck Sicily, at least 19 people killed.
12/12-
In 1979 - a 7.9 quake struck near the coast of Ecuador, 600 dead.
In 1981 - a 4.6 quake struck Pakistan, 6 killed.
In 1992 - a 7.5 quake struck the Flores Region, Indonesia, 2200 killed.
12/11 -
In 1998 - a 5.7 quake struck the Afghanistan-Tajikistan Border Region, 5 killed.
12/8 -
In 1812 - a quake struck Southern California, 40 killed.
In 1976 - a 5.2 quake struck the Republic of South Africa, 4 killed.
12/7 -
In 1944 - an 8.3 quake struck Tonankai, Japan. 1,000 deaths.
In 1986 - a 5.6 quake struck Bulgaria. At least 3 people killed.
In 1988 - a 7.0 quake struck the Turkey-Georgia-Armenia border region. Two events about 3 seconds apart. At least 25,000 people killed, 19,000 injured and 500,000 homeless.
12/6 -
In 1945 - news reports from Karachi, Pakistan, said a tidal wave which struck a week prior, had left 4,000 villagers dead and more than 40,000 people homeless. The tidal wave swept a 100-mile stretch of coast just west of Karachi. Eyewitnesses said just before the wave hit, the sky suddenly changed to red in the west. Then a column of fire shot from the water into the sky. With a thunderous roar, the tidal wave struck the beach sending millions of pebbles into the air. Two villages were reported wiped out by the wave. In one village, only three of 300 residents managed to survive.
In 1988 - a 5.7 quake struck southern Iran.
12/5 -
In 1997 - a 7.8 quake struck near the East Coast of Kamchatka. Complex earthquake with at least one event occurring about 14 seconds after the onset.
12/4 -
In 1972 - a 7.4 quake struck Japan.
12/2 -
In 1991 - a 5.6 quake struck Romania.
In 1996 - a 6.7 quake struck Kyushu, Japan. Complex earthquake, with at least two events occurring about 2 seconds apart.
12/1 -
In 1928 - an 8.0 quake struck Talca, Chile. 225 people killed.
----------------------------------------
11/30 -
In 1783 - a 5.3 quake struck New Jersey. The largest historical earthquake in New Jersey.
In 1967 - a 6.5 quake struck Albania, 18 killed.
In 1976 - a 7.3 quake struck Chile, one killed.
In 1983 - a 7.7 quake struck Chagos Archipelago Region.
In 1987 - a 7.9 quake struck Gulf of Alaska, Alaska.
11/29 -
In 1975 - a 7.5 quake struck Kalapana, Hawaii, tsunami.
In 1978 - a 7.9 quake struck Oaxaca, Mexico.
In 1998 - a 7.8 quake struck the Ceram Sea, at least 41 people killed.
11/28 -
In 1991 - a 5.6 quake struck western Iran, at least one person killed, 70 injured.
In 2000 – Rescuers in Jakarta struggled to find survivors after devastating floods and landslides on Indonesia's Sumatra island killed more than 100 people.
11/27 -
In 1945 - an 8.2 quake struck Iran, 4000 dead.
11/26-
In 1942 - a 6.4 quake struck Turkey, 4000 dead.
In 1999 - a 7.5 quake struck Vanuatu Islands, 5 killed.
11/25 -
In 1988 - a 5.9 quake struck Southern Quebec.
11/24 -
In 1975 - a quake struck Turkey, 574 killed.
In 1976 - a 7.3 quake struck the Northwest Iran - Russia border, 5000 killed.
In 1987 - a 6.2 quake struck Southern California, 2 killed.
In 1987 - a 6.6 quake struck Southern California.
11/23 -
In 1947 - a 6.25 quake struck Southwest Montana.
In 1977 - a 7.4 quake struck Argentina, 80 killed.
In 1980 – A 7.2 earthquake hit the Naples area in Italy, over 3000 killed and leaving 250,000 homeless.
In 1993 – Record cold was blamed for at least 34 deaths in parts of Europe and it prompted the French army to send out troops to feed the homeless in Paris.
In 1997 – Somali villagers isolated for weeks by flooding finally received aid from boats travelling down the Juba river.
11/22 -
In 1995 - a 7.3 quake struck Egypt, 8 killed.
11/21 -
In 1977 – An estimated 3000 people perished in a cyclone that struck
south-eastern India. Entire villages were submerged by tidal waves.
In 1997 - a 6.1 quake struck the India-Bangladesh Border Region,
twenty-three people killed.
11/20 -
In 1969 - a 4.6 quake struck southern West Virginia 4.6. The largest historical
earthquake in West Virginia.
1989 - a 5.2 quake struck Sichuan Province, China, four people killed.
In 1989 - a 5.7 quake struck Southern Iran, 3 killed.
11/19 -
In 1991 - a 7.0 quake struck near the West Coast of Colombia.
11/18 -
In 1727 - a large quake struck Tabriz, Iran causing 77,000 deaths.
In 1755 - a quake struck Cape Ann, Massachusetts.
In 1929 - a 7.2 quake struck Grand Banks, Newfoundland, 27 died in tsunami.
11/17 -
In 1938 - a 7.3 quake struck the Alaska Peninsula.
In 1987 - a 7.2 quake struck the Gulf of Alaska.
11/16 -
In 1982 - a 5.6 quake struck Albania, one killed.
In 1983 - a 6.7 quake struck Hawaii, total damage estimated at 6 to 6.5
million dollars.
11/15 -
In 1877 - a 5.1 quake struck eastern Nebraska.
11/14 -
In 1963 – A new island called Surtsey was created off the Icelandic coast by
an undersea volcanic eruption.
In 1970 – A cyclone and giant waves devastated the southern coast of East
Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and islands in Bay of Bengal, with a death toll
estimated at 300,000.
In 1979 – An earthquake measuring 5.6 on Richter scale hit villages in
Khorasan province in eastern Iran, killing at least 385.
In 1986 - a 7.8 quake struck Taiwan, 15 killed.
In 1994 – Tropical Storm Gordon killed at least 829 people in Haiti.
In 1994 - a 7.1 quake struck Mindoro, Philippine Islands, at least 78 killed,
local tsunami generated.
11/13 -
In 1985 – The Nevado de Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupted, sending an
avalanche of mud and rock slamming into the town of Armero. About 25,000
people died.
In 1998 - a 5.4 quake struck southern Iran, 5 dead, 850 houses
damaged.
11/12 -
In 1867 – A major eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy began and lasted for
several months.
In 1962 – The island of Guam, in the Pacific, was devastated by a typhoon.
In 1970 - A cyclone and tidal wave hit several districts of East Pakistan,
killing at least 200,000 people.
In 1996 - a 7.7 quake struck near the coast of Peru, 14 killed, 12000
homeless.
In 1999 - a 7.5 quake struck Turkey, 894 killed, about 5000 injured.
11/11 -
In 1922- an 8.0 quake struck the Chile-Argentina border region.
11/10 -
In 1938 - an 8.2 quake struck east of Shumagin Islands, Alaska. One of the 15
Largest Earthquakes in the United States.
In 1940 - a 7.3 quake struck Romania, 1,000 dead.
In 1946 - a 7.3 quake struck Ancash, Peru, 1400 killed.
In 1963 – A cholera epidemic in India and Pakistan is reported to have killed
more than 1500 people in the previous few weeks.
11/9 -
In 1968 - a 5.5 quake struck Southern Illinois, felt over 23 states.
11/8 -
In 1882 - a 6.2 quake struck near Denver, Colorado. The largest historical
earthquake in Colorado.
1980 - a 7.2 quake struck Trinidad, California.
1983 - a 5.0 quake struck Belgium, one killed.
In 1996 – Hundreds of thousands in India were left homeless by a
devastating cyclone.
11/7 -
In 1920 – Serious famine was reported in China.
In 1988 – A powerful earthquake just inside China's mountainous southern
border killed 600 people.
11/6 -
In 1942 – A tidal wave killed 10,000 people in Bengal, India.
In 1977 – A dam collapse drowned at least 38 people as wall of water
submerged a trailer camp outside Toccoa in the US state of Georgia.
In 1994 – Rescuers struggled to reach cut off villages, families trapped under
the rubble of collapsed houses amid the devastation caused by heavy
flooding across southern Europe.
In 1996 – More than 2000 people were killed or lost at sea when a cyclone
struck India's major crop-growing state of Andhra Pradesh.
11/5 -
In 1659 - a devastating quake struck Italy, over 2,000 killed. Severe damage.
11/4 -
In 1927 - a 7.1 quake struck west of Lompoc, California.
In 1952 - a 9.0 quake struck Kamchatka, one of the 10 largest quakes
ever.
In 1966 – The worst floods in Italy's history affected a third of the country.
Florence was cut off and many of the city's art treasures were damaged.
11/3 -
In 1706 - a violent quake struck Italy, 15,000 killed.
In 1943 - a 7.4 quake struck Skwentna, Alaska.
In 1968 – Storms, landslides and floods took more than 100 lives and caused
heavy damage in northern Italy.
In 2002 - a 7.9 quake struck Central Alaska. Felt in northern British
Columbia, western Alberta and Northwest Territories. Also felt by people in
high-rise buildings in Seattle, Washington. Seiches and muddied water wells
observed in a number of states, including Washington, Idaho, Louisiana,
Oklahoma, Missouri, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
11/2 -
In 1875 - a 4.3 quake struck Northern Georgia.
11/ 1 -
In 1755 - an 8.7 quake struck Lisbon, Portugal, 70,000 killed.
In 1935 - a 6.2 quake struck Timiskaming, Canada.
In 1946 - a 7.0 quake struck the Andreanof Islands, Alaska.
In 1947 - a 7.3 quake struck Central Peru, 233 killed.
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10/31 -
In 1895- a 6.7 quake struck Charleston, Missouri.
In 1970 - a 7.0 quake struck New Guinea, 5 killed.
In 2002 – an earthquake struck the village of San Giuliano di Puglia in the
Apennine mountains 225 km southeast of Rome, killing 26 children and one
teacher in an elementary school that collapsed.
10/30 -
In 1983 - a 6.9 quake struck Turkey, more than 1342 killed, 50 villages
completely destroyed.
In 2003 – An army of 13,000 firefighters struggled to contain the worst
wildfires in California in years. Twenty people die and thousands of homes
were destroyed.
10/29 -
In 1976 - a 7.1 quake struck West Irian, 133 killed.
In 1989 - a 5.7 quake struck Algeria.
10/28 -
In 1746 – The Peruvian cities Lima and Callao were demolished by an
earthquake, killing at least 18,000.
In 1891 – An 8.4 earthquake struck the Niphon Islands in Japan, killing 10,000
people and leaving at least 300,000 homeless.
In 1983 - a 7.0 quake struck Borah Peak, Idaho, 2 killed. Felt in Idaho,
Washington, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, and parts of
Canada.
In 1998 – Hurricane Mitch paused over Honduras with 200 km/h winds,
sweeping away bridges, flooding neighbourhoods and killing hundreds of
people.
10/27 -
In 1985 - a 5.9 quake struck Algeria, 6 killed.
In 1993 – Brush fires in southern California destroyed at least 800 homes.
10/26 -
In 1969 - a 5.6 quake struck Yugoslavia, 20 killed and 65,000 homeless.
10/25 -
In 1981 - a 7.4 quake struck Michoacan, Mexico, 3 killed.
In 1990 - a 6.0 quake struck the Hindu Kush Region, 11 killed.
10/24 -
In 1927 - a 7.1 quake struck Chichagof Island, Alaska.
In 1980 - a 7.0 quake struck Central Mexico, 300 dead and 150,000 homeless.
In 1995 – A strong earthquake with numerous aftershocks jolted the south-western Chinese province
Yunnan, killing at least 14.
10/23 -
In 1922 - a 5.2 quake struck Morocco, killing 2.
10/22 -
In 1882 - a 4.9 quake struck southeast Oklahoma, felt over a wide area including Arkansas, Kansas,
Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
10/21 -
In 1923 – Start of 160-day heat wave in Marble Bar, Western Australia, during which the temperature did
not fall below 38
degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit).
In 1999 – A powerful 7.6 earthquake struck Taiwan in the pre-dawn hours, killing more than 2,300 and
damaging 82,000 housing
units. The quake caused some $9.2 billion in damages and noticeably altered the island's topography.
In 2003 – A series of massive wildfires in southern California raged across a wooded and suburban region
surrounding Los
Angeles and San Diego, killing at least 22 people and scorching about 300,000 hectares. Some 3,500
homes were destroyed.
In 2004 – Japan started the clean-up from its deadliest typhoon in over a decade, a day after the storm
ripped across the
country, killing 55 and leaving 24 missing.
10/20 -
In 1870 - a damaging earthquake struck Canada between Montreal and Quebec.
In 1986 - an 8.3 quake struck the Kermadec Islands region generating a tsunami.
In 1991 – an earthquake struck the Himalayan foothills in India, killing at least 341 people and destroying
tens of thousands of homes.
10/19 -
In 1930 - a 4.2 quake struck near Napoleonville, Louisiana. Their largest historical quake.
In 1935 - a 6.2 quake struck Helena, Montana, 2 killed.
In 1991 - a 7.0 quake struck northern India. Two events about 1.6 seconds apart. At least 2,000 people
killed and 18,000 buildings destroyed.
10/18 -
In 1916 - a 5.1 quake struck Irondale, Alabama. The largest historical earthquake in Alabama.
In 1981 - a 5.4 quake struck Venezuela. Fifteen people killed, many injured, and extensive damage.
In 1984 - a 5.3 quake struck Turkey. Three people killed, 35 injured, and 75,000 homes damaged.
In 1989 - a 6.9 quake struck Loma Prieta, California.
Three events, about 1.5 and 3.0 seconds apart, respectively. Sixty-two people killed, 3,757 injured and damage estimated at
5.6 billion U.S. dollars. A small tsunami with maximum wave height (peak-to-trough) of 40 cm was recorded at Monterey.
In 1989 - a 5.3 quake struck Northeastern China. At least 29 people killed, 150 injured and about 27,500 houses damaged.
In 1992 - a 7.3 quake struck Northern Colombia. One killed, 50 injured. A small island emerged from the Caribbean Sea.
10/17 -
In 1966 - an 8.1 quake struck near the coast of Peru, 125 dead, 20,000 homeless, generated a tsunami.
In 1977 - a 6.9 quake struck north of New Zealand.
In 1989 – an earthquake struck northern California, killing more than 60 people.
10/16 -
In 1987 – nineteen people in southern Britain were killed as winds gusted up
to 170 kph, the worst since records began.
In 2000 – tens of thousands of Italians sought shelter on high ground as
torrential rains continued to fall in northern Italy and southern Switzerland.
The deluge blocked transport links and hampered power supplies.
10/15 -
In 1979 - a 6.5 quake struck the Imperial Valley, Baja California.
In 1997 - a 7.1 quake struck near the coast of Central Chile, 8 killed, 300 injured, over 10,000 homes
severely damaged or destroyed.
10/14 -
In 1968 - a 7.4 quake struck Western Australia.
10/13 -
In 1926 - a 7.0 quake struck the Andreanof Islands, Alaska.
In 1963 - an 8.5 quake struck the Kuril Islands, one of the 10 largest earthquakes in the world.
In 1985 - a 5.9 quake struck Tajik SSR, 29 killed, 80 injured, 8000 homeless.
In 1992 – The pyramids, the Sphinx and other monuments survived a 5.8 Cairo earthquake that killed at least 400 and injured
more than 4000.
In 1993 - a 7.0 quake struck the Eastern New Guinea Region, Papua New Guinea, 60 killed.
10/12 -
In 1992 - a 5.8 quake struck Egypt, 552 dead, about 10,000 injured. 8300
buildings destroyed.
10/11 -
In 1871 – the Great Chicago Fire started, supposedly when a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn. Most of the city was razed.
[New evidence seems to point to the fire being started by a meteor strike.]
In 1995 – A huge earthquake hit the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, killing at least 100.
10/10 -
In 1918 - a 7.5 quake struck Puerto Rico, the most destructive in their history. 116 dead, 6 meters (19.5
feet) high tsunami.
in 1968 - In Calcutta, India, a cyclone that struck the Bay of Bengal left 500,000 people
homeless.
10/9 -
In 1961 – The whole population of the South Atlantic island Tristan da Cunha was evacuated to Britain after a volcano
erupted.
In 1963 – A high dam collapsed near Belluno, Italy, and the resulting flood killed an estimated 1800 people.
In 1980 – An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale hit Algeria, killing 12,590 people.
10/8 -
In 1865 - a 6.3 quake struck the Santa Cruz Mountains, California.
In 1995 – An earthquake shook Mexico City and the nation's southern regions, killing at least 54.
In 1997 – Hurricane Pauline struck Acapulco, Mexico, killing more than 200.
10/7 -
In 1983 - a 5.3 quake struck New York.
10/6 -
In 1976 - a 5.7 quake struck Ecuador, 9 killed.
In 1989 – Typhoon Angela killed at least 118 people on northern coast of Luzon, Philippines.
In 1995 - a 6.8 quake struck Southern Sumatera, 84 killed, 2,178 injured, nearly 65,000 homeless .
In 1999 – Overwhelmed by rising waters on the Niger River, officials opened the floodgates of two major dams, submerging 400
villages and leaving more than 300,000 homeless. Some 500 are believed drowned.
10/5 -
In 1948 - a 7.3 quake struck Turkmenistan, 110,000 dead. One of the world's dealiest quakes.
In 1985 - a 6.8 quakes struck the Northwest Territories, Canada.
10/4 -
In 1983 - a 7.4 quake struck near the coast of Northern Chile, 3 killed.
In 1994 – an 8.2 undersea earhquake killed at least 16 people in Russia's Kuril Islands, injured 340.
10/3 -
In 1915 - a 7.1 quake struck Pleasant Valley, Nevada, one of the 15th largest in U.S. history.
In 1974 - a 7.6 quake struck Peru, 78 died.
In 1997 – Earthquakes in central Italy injured 20 people and caused further damage to the Basilica of St Francis of Assissi,
damaged by earthquakes a week earlier.
10/2 -
In 1987 - a 5.4 quake stuck Peru, 3 killed.
10/1 -
In 1969 - a 6.4 quake struck Central Peru, 136 dead. It was the 220th aftershock of a 5.9 quake on July 24th.
More than 1,375 aftershocks were recorded through October 17.
In 1987 - a 5.9 quake struck Southern California, 8 dead.
In 1995 - a 6.3 quake struck Turkey, 100 dead, 50,000 homeless.
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9/30 -
In 1970 - a 6.3 quake struck the Philippine Islands region.
In 1999 – A 7.5 earthquake rocked southern Mexico, toppling church towers and old homes in Oaxaca and shaking buildings in
the capital. At least 27 people killed and 122 injured.
9/29 -
In 1969 - a 6.3 quake struck South Africa. Only a few minutes before the earth started shaking, hundreds of rats suddenly
began running through the streets, as if they sensed something unusual was about to happen. One observer said, "Frankly, I
was more terrified by the rats than by the tremors."
In 1982 - a 5.5 quake struck Guatemala. 3 were killed.
In 1993 - a 6.3 quake struck Southern India, the largest to ever hit the area, Around 10,000 people were killed.
9/28 -
In 1965 – A volcano 56km south of Manila in Philippines erupted, killing 184.
In 2002 – Increasingly cool and humid weather helped firefighters to bring a 14,500-hectare wildfire in the Angeles National
Forest northeast of Los Angeles to 65 per cent containment. Since September 22, the fire had destroyed 72 buildings and
forced the evacuation of 2000 residents.
9/27 -
In 1909 - a 5.1 quake struck Wabash River Valley, Indiana. It was the largest historical quake in Indiana.
In 1959 – A typhoon battered the Japanese island of Honshu, killing almost 5000 people.
In 1996 – Five children and four adults were killed when a cliff collapsed during a school excursion south of Perth,
Australia.
9/26 -
In 1997 - a 5.7 and a 6.0 quake struck Central Italy destroying 80,000 homes.
9/25 -
In 1966 – Two typhoons hit Japan, leaving more than 300 people dead and missing.
In 1968 - a 6.0 quake struck the Mexico-Guatemala Border Region.
In 1974 – Scientists warned that continued use of aerosol sprays will cause ozone depletion.
In 2003 - an 8.3 quake struck the Hokkaido, Japan Region. It was the largest quake in 2003.
9/24 -
In 1910 - a quake struck Coconino National Forest, near Flagstaff, Arizona. Fifty-two shocks were felt by a construction crew
between September 10 and 24, 1910. The strongest shock was so violent that the construction crew temporarily abandoned the
work site as boulders rolled down the mountain into their camp.
In 1994 – Officials stopped trucks and handed out antibiotics to those fleeing a deadly plague outbreak in western India in
an effort to keep the disease from spreading to major cities.
9/23 -
In 1899 - a 7.0 quake struck Cape Yakataga, Alaska.
In 1992 – France's deadliest storm in 34 years killed at least 32 people.
In 1998 – Hurricane Georges reached Cuba and threatened the Florida Keys after
making a shambles of much of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
9/22 -
In 1989 - a 6.1 quake struck Sichuan Province, China.
9/21 -
In 1938 – A hurricane killed more than 700 people in New England (US) and on Long Island.
In 1985 – Mexico counted at least 2000 dead from an earthquake that devastated four states.
In 1993 - a 6.0 quake struck Oregon.
In 1997 – A volcanic avalanche buried Montserrat's airport and flowed into the Atlantic Ocean 5.5km
away.
In 1999 – A major earthquake struck Taiwan, killing at least 2321 people and injuring 8712. The quake
measured 7.6 on the Richter scale.
In 2004 – Floodwaters receded and rescue workers reached homes buried in mud, but Tropical Storm
Jeanne had killed more than 700 Haitians and left a quarter million homeless.
9/20 -
In 1899 - a 6.9 quake struck Turkey's Menderes Valley.
In 1994 – A pneumonic plague epidemic broke out in Surat, an industrial city in western India. It caused widespread panic,
but only about 60 people died and the disease was soon brought under control.
In 1994 – Ships rescued thousands of villagers as two volcanoes erupted in Papua New Guinea.
In 1999 - a 7.7 quake struck Taiwan. At least 2,297 people killed, 8,700 injured, 600,000 people left homeless and about
82,000 housing units damaged by the earthquake and larger aftershocks.
9/19 -
In 1979 - a 5.8 quake struck Central Italy, followed by more than 300 aftershocks.
In 1985 – the Mexico City area was struck by the first (8.0) of two devastating quakes that killed thousands of people,
perhaps as many as 35,000. The quake generated a tsunami.
9/18 -
In 1984 - a 6.4 quake struck Turkey and
a 6.9 quake struck Off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan
9/17 -
In 1665 – The Great bubonic plague broke out in London.
In 1911 - a 7.1 quake struck Rat Islands, Alaska.
In 1999 – About 30,000 people were evacuated from the Gulf Coast states of Tabasco and Veracruz, where a week of heavy
rainfall caused several rivers to overflow and about a dozen deaths.
9/16 -
In 1978 - a 7.8 quake struck Iran killing about 15,000 people.
In 1997 - Typhoon Oliwa hit south-western Japan, killing six and forcing 80,000 people from their homes.
9/15 -
In 1905 - a 7.4 quake struck Fox Islands, Alaska.
In 1980 - a 6.0 and a 5.9 quake struck northeastern Italy. They were
aftershocks of the May 6, 1976 earthquake. The quakes were felt sharply
throughout central Europe.
In 2001 – Tropical Storm Gabrielle headed out to sea after leaving half a
million Florida homes without electricity.
9/14 -
In 1994 – Tropical storms in north-central Africa killed about 100 people.
In 1995 - a 7.5 quake struck near Coast of Guerrero, Mexico. Three people
killed, nearly 100 injured, 500 homeless and extensive damage.
9/13 -
In 1922 – The world's highest recorded shade temperature, 58 degrees celsius, was recorded at Al Aziziyah, Libya.
In 1984 - a 6.3 quake struck Honshu, Japan. At least 24 people were killed with severe damage and landslides.
In 1986 - a 6.0 quake struck Southern Greece. At least twenty people killed and 1,500 buildings damaged or destroyed.
9/12 -
In 1979 - an 8.1 quake struck the West Irian region ( about 1,000 kilometers north of Australia near the island of
Yapen.)
In 1981 - a 6.2 quake struck Kashmir. At least 220 people were killed.
In 1988 – Medical teams
worked round the clock to prevent epidemics in wake of floods that devastated Bangladesh.
In 2004 – Hurricane Ivan headed toward western Cuba and the southeastern United States after battering the Cayman Islands
with ferocious 240 kph winds, killing at least 60 across the Caribbean.
9/11 -
In 1992 - a 6.7 quake struck Zaire.
In 2001 - Vibrations associated with the collapse of the World Trade Center were recorded across five states, and as far away
as 428 km (265 miles) from New York. The terrorist attacks produced a complex array of signals from the initial impact of
the airplanes to the collapse of the Twin Towers and subsequent collapse of neighboring buildings. The North Tower collapse
produced vibrations equivalent to a magnitude 2.3 earthquake.
9/10 -
In 1899 - an 8.0 quake struck Yakutat Bay, Alaska.
In 1943 - a 7.4 quake struck Tottori, Japan causing 1,190 deaths.
In 1993 - a 7.3 quake struck near the coast of Chiapas, Mexico
In 2004 – The Jamaican government urged 500,000 people to evacuate the
island as Hurricane Ivan approached, one of the strongest storms on record.
9/9 -
In 1996 – Typhoon Sally hit the coastal areas of Guangdong, China's most
developed province, killing more than 130 and injuring thousands.
9/8 -
In 1900 – Galveston, Texas, was struck by a hurricane that killed about 6000
people.
In 1905 - a 7.9 quake struck Calabria, Italy causing 2,500 deaths. It was one of the world's deadliest earthquakes.
In 1909 - a 7.4 quake struck Fox Islands, Alaska.
In 1987 – Rescue workers dug into a mudslide that buried cars and buses,
killing at least 150 people on lengthy stretch of highway at Maracay,
Venezuela.
9/7 -
In 1999 – Greece's deadliest quake in more than 40 years, a 6.0, struck outside
Athens, killing at least 101 people.
In 2001 – Lightning struck a tree on the edge of a municipal soccer field in
Central Mexico, killing six children and injuring four.
9/6 -
In 1975 a 6.7 quake struck Turkey. The earthquake reportedly killed more than 2,000, injured 3,400, and caused extensive
property damage.
Many strong aftershocks followed the main shock, causing the collapse of already partly damaged homes.
9/5 -
In 1944 - a 5.8 quake struck Massena, New York. It was the largest historical earthquake in New York.
In 1997 – In Paraguay, during a severe storm in Asuncion, a stadium collapsed, killing 37 people at a political rally.
In 2004 – Two powerful earthquakes struck western Japan, rattling several major cities and triggering tsunami waves. At least
14 people were injured.
9/4 -
In 1899, a 7.9 quake struck near Cape Yakataga, Alaska. It was one of the 15 largest earthquakes in the United States.
In 1989 a 7.1 quake struck Semidi Islands, Alaska. It was one of the largest earthquakes in the United States.
9/3 -
In 1937 a 7.2 quake struck Andreanof Islands, Alaska.
In 1968 a 6.6 quake struck Turkey. This shock caused 24 deaths, 200 injuries, and destroyed over 2,000 houses. Several
villages were completely razed. At Amasra, water in the Big Port first drew back 1.5 meters, leaving fish jumping on dry
land, and then rose 3 meters. Huge landslides and rockfalls were observed along a 9-mile stretch of the coast of Big
Port.
In 1972 a 6.2 quake struck Pakistan killing over 100.
9/2 -
In 1935 – A hurricane slamed into the Florida Keys, claiming 423 lives.
In 1962 – Western Iran was shattered by an earthquake, with more than 10,000 killed and
200 towns and villages destroyed.
9/1 -
In 1923 – The Great Kanto Earthquake shook the Tokyo metropolitan area, killing more than 142,000 people.
In 1962 – An earthquake struck north-western Iran near Ghazvin resulting in the deaths of 2,000 people and the destruction of
over 300 surrounding villages.
In 1968 – In Iran more than 8,000 people were known to have perished in series of earthquakes.
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8/31 -
In 1886, Charleston, South Carolina was the site of the first recorded
earthquake in the eastern United States. Even now, the quake is considered
one of the worst to hit the nation. It was estimated at 7.5 on the Richter
scale and felt 800 miles away. Two shocks, eight minutes apart in the early
morning, killed about 100 people.
8/30 -
In 1979 – Hurricane David devastated the Caribbean island of Dominica on a
path through the Caribbean and the eastern US seaboard that claimed 1,100
lives.
8/29 -
In 1973 – Earthquake hits area southwest of Mexico City, killing 500 people and injuring 1,000 others.
8/28 -
8/27 -
In 1883 – The most powerful volcanic eruption ever recorded continues to blow apart Mount
Krakatau in the Sunda Straits, Indonesia. Shock waves travel around the earth and tidal
waves kill an estimated 36,000 people.
In 1900 – A devastating hurricane hits Galveston in Texas, killing more than 6,000
people.
In 1993 – A dam at the Gouhou reservoir in the western Chinese province of Qinghai
bursts, releasing torrents of water that kill hundreds of people and destroy several
villages.
In 2003 – Mars passes just 55.76 million km from Earth, making it the closest such
encounter since the Stone Age.
8/26 -
In 1883 – A massive eruption of a volcano on Krakatoa island in the Sundra Strait between
Java and Sumatra continues. The two-day eruption and associated tidal waves kill some
36,000
people and destroy two-thirds of the island.
In 1952 – Floods caused by monsoon rains inundate 90 per cent of Manila, causing at least
eight deaths. It is Manila's third flood in a month.
8/25 -
In 1883 – Krakatoa volcano erupted in Dutch East Indies, creating a tidal wave that kills
36,000
In 1965 – Massive avalanche roars down from glacier in Swiss Alps, burying 108 people at
hydroelectric construction project.
In 1986 – Reported death toll from toxic gas out of a volcanic lake in Cameroon tops 1,700.
In 2002 – Dangerously high water levels on Dongting Lake in the Hunan province of China
peaks and begins to recede after threatening to overwhelm dikes that protect millions of
people in the surrounding area.
(Most facts are from the 'On this day' section of the heraldsun.news.com.au
THEY HAVE DISCONTINUED THIS ITEM)