Sixth-worst earthquake hit Russia's Kamchatka: World's five strongest earthquakes...

After a strong earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter Scale struck the Far Eastern region of Russia, setting alarm bells ringing for a potential tsunami in Japan, Alaska, Hawaii, and the North and Central Americas, it also brought back memories of the world's worst earthquakes. The quake is so severe that tsunami waves measuring 10 to 13 feet in Kamchatka, 2 feet on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and up to 1.4 feet in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands were recorded. According to the US Geological Survey, it is the world's sixth-strongest earthquake ever recorded. The fifth-worst quake on Earth also hit Kamchatka in 1952, with a magnitude of 9.0.

What are world's five most devastating earthquakes?

2010 Haiti Earthquake

The Haiti earthquake of 2010, which caused devastation in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, is considered the most destructive one. An estimated number of 300,000 people were killed, while about 1,500,000 survivors were left homeless.

1976 Tangshan Earthquake

The Tangshan earthquake of 1976 caused major devastation in the Chinese coal-mining and industrial city of Tangshan. It occurred on  July 28, 1976, it was measured 7.5 on the Richter Scale and it killed approximately 242,000 persons. 

2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake

An undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra on December 26, 2004. It caused a tsunami across the Indian Ocean, with waves as high as 9 metres hitting the shores. It killed more than 230,000 people and caused widespread devastation across 13 countries, including India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Thailand. 

1970 Peruvian Earthquake

About 70,000 people were killed when an earthquake originated off the coast of Peru on May 31, 1970, and produced massive landslides.  Thousands of poorly constructed houses collapsed in the earthquake.  Sichuan Earthquake of 2008. More than 90,000 people were killed and 3,50,000 were left homeless when an earthquake occurred in Beichuan town of Sichuan province in China in 2008. It measured 7.9 on the Richter Scale, with its epicentre in the city of Wenchuan, about 100 km north-northwest of Chengdu.

1952 Kamchatka Earthquake

An earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale hit the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands on November 5, 1952. It caused a tsunami that hit Hawaii, with damage estimated at up to US$1 million and livestock losses. Japan reported no casualties or damage. The tsunami reached areas as far as Alaska, Chile, and New Zealand.

According to Michigan Technological University, earthquakes measuring 2.5 or less on the Richter Scale are so feeble that they are usually not felt, though these can be recorded by a seismograph. Millions of such shocks are felt on the Earth every year.