# The strongest earthquakes ever recorded

The largest earthquakes since instrumental records began, ranked by magnitude, according to Wikipedia's list.

- 0 votes · 17 items
- Aug 7, 2026 · Daiki Watanabe
- https://even.best/en/l/782/the-strongest-earthquakes-ever-recorded

## Top 10

1. **1960 Valdivia earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 9.4–9.6. Valdivia, Chile. The strongest earthquake ever recorded; its tsunami reached Japan.
2. **1964 Alaska earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 9.2–9.3. Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA.
3. **2004 Indian Ocean earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 9.2–9.3. Sumatra, Indonesia. Its tsunami killed about 230,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
4. **2011 Tōhoku earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 9.0–9.1. Tōhoku, Japan. The strongest earthquake ever recorded in Japan.
5. **1952 Kamchatka earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.8–9.0. Kamchatka, USSR.
6. **2010 Chile earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.8. Maule, Chile.
7. **2025 Kamchatka earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.8. Kamchatka, Russia. Tsunami warnings were issued along Japan's Pacific coast.
8. **1906 Ecuador–Colombia earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.5–8.8. Esmeraldas, Ecuador – Colombia.
9. **1965 Rat Islands earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.7. Rat Islands, Alaska, USA.
10. **1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.7. Assam, India – Tibet, China.
11. **1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.6. Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA.
12. **1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.6. Andreanof Islands, Alaska, USA.
13. **2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.6. Sumatra, Indonesia.
14. **2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.6. Sumatra, Indonesia.
15. **1933 Sanriku earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Magnitude 8.4–8.5. Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Its tsunami devastated the Sanriku coast.
16. **1868 Arica Earthquake** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — A huge earthquake of magnitude 8.5 to 9.0 occurred in what is now northern Chile. A tsunami reached the entire Pacific Ocean.
17. **1963 Earthquake off the Kuril Islands** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — An M8.5 earthquake occurred off the coast of the Kuril Islands.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.