Interesting
Earthquake Facts
The
largest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.5 in Sourthern
Chile on May 22, 1960. More than 2,000 people died and 2 million
were left homeless. It also caused tsunami as far away as
Japan where they killed 138 people.
The
biggest earthquake in the United States occured on March 28,
1964 in Alaska and was recorded as a magnitude 9.2. It was
also the second largest in the world.
Major
earthquakes (magnitude 8 and greater) occur on average of
one per year. However, there are more than 1 million very
small (magnitude 2.9 or smaller) earthquakes a year.
Alaska
and California have the most earthquakes of any state.
Florida
and North Dakota have the fewest earthquakes of any state.
The
deadliest earthquake in history occured on January 23, 1556,
in Shansi, China. Approximately 830,000 people died.
