Some statistics on earthquakes

[Moonshadow]

Today's 6.4 earthquake in central Iran has killed at least 370 people, injured hundreds more, and left thousands (one source said tens of thousands) homeless. For that complete story, you can go here:

www.msnbc.com/id/7009070/

An additional link provided with that story yields the following information on deadly quakes in Iran's recent past:

April 10, 1972 - 7.1 - 5374 people killed.

March 22, 1977 - 7.0 - 167 people killed.

April 6-7, 1977 - 6.5 - 352 people killed.

December 21, 1977 - 6.2 - 521 people killed.

September 16, 1978 - 7.5 to 7.9 - 15,000 people killed.

January 16, 1979 - 7.0 - 199 people killed.

November 14, 1979 - 5.6 - 385 people killed.

June 11, 1981 - 6.8 - 1027 people killed; more than 800 injured.

June 21, 1990 - 7.7 - 35,000 people killed; more than 100,000 injured; more than 500,000 left homeless. Iran's worst recorded disaster.

February 28, 1997 - 7.1 - 1560 people killed.

June 22, 2002 - 6.3 - 229 people killed.

December 26, 2003 - 6.7 - 31,000 people killed.

[Moonshadow]

A rundown of the world's deadliest quakes over the last 100 years. Of course there are countless other quakes that didn't make the list because the casualty rate or damage rate wasn't high enough:

1905 - Kangra, India - 8.6 - 19,000 killed.
1906 - Santiago/Valparaiso, Chile - 8.6 - 20,000 killed.
1906 - Colombia - 8.9 - 1000 killed.
1907 - Central Asia - 8.1 - 12,000 killed.
1908 - Italy, Messia - 7.2 - 70,000 to 100,000 killed (estimated).

1920 - Gansu, China - 8.6 - 200,000 killed (estimated).
1923 - Kwanto, Japan - 8.3 - 143,000 killed. Many of these deaths were in the Great Tokyo Fire which was caused by this earthquake.
1927 - Xining, China - 8.3 - 200,000 killed.

1932 - Gansu, China - 7.6 - 70,000 killed.
1933 - Sanriku, Japan - 8.9 - 2990 killed.
1934 - India, Nepal - 8.4 - 10,700 killed.
1935 - Pakistan, Quetta - 7.5 - 30,000 to 60,000 killed.
1939 - Erzincan province, Turkey - 7.9 - 33,000 killed.
1939 - Chillan, Chile - 8.3 - 28,000 killed.

1946 - Turkey - 6.0 - 1300 killed.
1946 - Tonankai, Japan - 8.4 - 1330 killed.
1948 - Turkmenistan - 7.3 - 110,000 killed.

1950 - India/Assam/Tibet - 8.7 - 1530 killed.

1960 - Chile - 9.5 - 45,000 killed.
1966 - Varto, Turkey - 7.1 - 2500 killed.

1970 - Gediz, Turkey - 7.3 - 1100 killed.
1970 - northern Peru - 7.9 - 66,000 killed.
1975 - Turkey - 6.7 - 2300 killed.
1976 - Guatemala - 7.5 - 22,778 killed.
1976 - Tangshan, China - 7.8 to 8.2 - 255,000 killed.

1980 - Algeria - 7.3 - 5000+ killed.
1983 - Turkey - 6.9 - 1300 killed.
1985 - Michoacan, Mexico - 8.1 - 9500 killed.
1988 - Turkey/USSR border - 6.9 - 25,000 killed.

1990 - northwest Iran - 7.3 to 7.7 - 50,000 killed.
1995 - Kobe, Japan - 7.2 - 6000+ killed.
1997 - northern Iran - 7.1 - 1500 killed.
1998 - northeast Afghanistan - 6.1 - 5000 killed.
1999 - western Colombia - 6.0 - 1171 killed.
1999 - Taiwan - 6.8 - 2000+ killed.
1999 - Turkey - 7.8 - 15,613 killed.

2003 - Algeria - 6.8 - 1700+ killed.
2003 - Bam, Iran - 6.3 to 6.6 - 31,000 killed.
2004 - off Sumatra's west coast - 9.0 - 170,000+ killed by quake and resulting tsunami. Some casualty estimates go as high as 300,000 killed.