The World's Strongest Earthquakes and Tsunamis A look at the world's strongest earthquakes and tsunamis: March 20, 2012: A 7.4-magnitude quake with an epicenter in Guerrero state shakes central southern Mexico, swaying buildings in Mexico City. March 11, 2011: A magnitude 8.9 quake strikes off the northeast coast of Japan, sending a tsunami across the Pacific and killing a still-undetermined number of people. October 2011: A 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Turkey claims at least 582 lives, most in the eastern city of Ercis. October 2010: A volcanic eruption and a tsunami kill more than 500 people in Indonesia. February 2010: A 8.8-magnitude quake shakes Chile, generating a tsunami and killing 524 people. September 2009: A magnitude 8.0 earthquake unleashes tsunamis of up to 40 feet (12 meters) and killing 194 people in the South Pacific, including 34 in American Samoa. September 2007: A 7.8-magnitude earthquake rattles Sumatra island, triggering regional tsunami alerts and damaging scores of buildings. September 2007: An earthquake measured at a magnitude of 8.4 near Sumatra triggers a wave in the coastal city of Padang. The tremor kills at least 25 people and injures around 50. April 2007: At least 28 people in the Solomon Islands die in a tsunami and earthquake measured at a magnitude of 8.1. July 2006: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake triggers a tsunami off Java island's southern coast, killing at least 600 people. March 2005: A magnitude 8.6 quake in northern Sumatra kills about 1,300 people. December 2004: An Indian Ocean tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, kills 230,000 in a dozen countries. September 1985: A massive 8.0-magnitude earthquake kills at least 9,500 people in Mexico City and parts of central Mexico. August 1976: A magnitude 8.0 earthquake hits near the islands of Mindanao and Sulu in the Philippines, generating a tsunami and leaving at least 5,000 dead. March 1964: A 9.2-magnitude earthquake in Prince William Sound, Alaska, kills 131 people, including 128 from a tsunami. May 1960: A magnitude 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile and ensuing tsunami kill at least 1,716 people. November 1952: A magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka causes damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 30-foot (9.1-meter) waves in Hawaii. August 1950: A magnitude 8.6 earthquake in Assam, Tibet, kills at least 780 people. April 1946: An earthquake measured at a magnitude of 8.1 near Unimak Islands, Alaska, triggers a tsunami, killing 165 people, mostly in Hawaii. January 1906: A magnitude 8.8 quake off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia generates a tsunami that kills at least 500 people. August 1868: A magnitude 9.0 quake in Arica, Peru (now Chile) generates catastrophic tsunamis; more than 25,000 people were killed in South America. April 1868: A 7.9-magnitude earthquake strikes the Big Island, Hawaii, killing 77 people, including 46 from a tsunami. November 1755: A magnitude 8.7 quake and ensuing tsunami in Lisbon, Portugal, kill an estimated 60,000 people and destroy much of Lisbon. July 1730: A magnitude 8.7 quake in Valparaiso, Chile, kills at least 3,000 people. January 1700: A magnitude 9.0 quake shakes present-day Northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Colombia and triggers tsunami that damages villages in Japan. Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology and WHO's International Disaster Database