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LONDON, March 28 (Reuters)
—— An
earthquake that struck off the coast of northern Sumatra on Monday was
measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at magnitude 8.7, making it one of
the eight biggest quakes since 1900 by magnitude.
Here is a list of the 12
strongest quakes since 1905:
May 22, 1960 - Chile - An earthquake measuring 9.5 struck the
coast of central Chile, triggering tidal waves and volcanic eruptions.
Some 5,000 people were killed and 2 million made homeless.
March 28, 1964 - Alaska - An earthquake and ensuing tsunami
claimed 125 lives and caused about $311 million in property loss. The
quake, measuring 9.2, was felt over a large area of Alaska and in parts
of western Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Canada.
March 9, 1957 - Alaska - An earthquake measuring 9.1 hit the
Andreanof Islands. On Umnak Island, Mount Vsevidof erupted after being
dormant for 200 years, generating a 15-metre high tsunami that continued
to Hawaii.
Dec 26, 2004 - Indonesia - A quake measuring 9.0 struck the
coast of Aceh province on the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra and
triggered a tsunami that left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing
across Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and India.
Nov 4, 1952 - Russia - An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0
generated a tsunami that struck the Hawaiian islands. No lives were lost.
Jan 31, 1906 - Ecuador - An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8
struck near the coast of Ecuador and Colombia, generating a strong
tsunami that killed up to 1,000. It was felt all along the coast of
Central America and as far north as San Francisco and west to Japan.
March 28, 2005 - Indonesia - An earthquake of magnitude 8.7
struck off the coast of northern Sumatra, not far from the epicentre of
the magnitude 9.0 quake three months earlier.
Feb 4, 1965 - Alaska - Measuring 8.7, the quake generated a
tsunami reported to be about 10.7 metres high on Shemya Island.
Aug 15, 1950 - Tibet/India - Two thousand homes, temples and
mosques were destroyed in a quake measuring 8.6. Hardest hit was the
Brahmaputra Basin in northeast India. At least 1,500 people were killed.
Feb 3, 1923 - Russia - The Kamchatka peninsula was struck by a
quake with a magnitude of 8.5.
Feb 1, 1938 - Indonesia - An 8.5 magnitude earthquake in the
Banda Sea generated tsunamis that caused great damage on Banda and Kai,
volcanic islands in eastern Indonesia.
Oct 13, 1963 - Kurile Islands - A quake measuring 8.5 was
recorded in the island chain, which stretches from Russia to Japan.
Source: Reuters/U.S.
Geological Survey Earthquake Web site
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http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
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Magnitude 8.7 - NORTHERN SUMATRA, ACHEH
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