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Haitians piled bodies along the devastated streets of their capital after a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake struck on January 12, 2010. The temblor flattened the president’s palace and the main prison, its cathedral, hospitals, schools and thousands of homes. Untold numbers were trapped. When the final tallies came in, the quake killed at least 230,000 people. Numerous aftershocks and the inevitable diseases that followed took even more lives and continue today. Around three million Haitians a third of the country’s population were affected by this quake and two million required food assistance. |
Earthquakes pose a significant risk to 75 million
Americans in 39 states. USGS Jan. 2004 |
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Mag.
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2003
2004
Mag.
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Current
Yearly
Ave.
Thru
Sept 5,
2011
to New
Average
Old
Yearly
Ave.
Thru
Sept 5,
2011
to Old
Average
8.0-9.9
Great
0
1
2
3
1
0
2
0
4
3
1
2
8.0-9.9
1
1
4
0
1
1
1
11
1
100%
7.0-7.9
Major
24
15
13
22
21
20
14
23
16
15
16
14
7.0-7.9
11
11
14
12
16
21
15
151
17
88%
6.0-6.9
Strong
163
141
161
185
160
125
113
123
153
124
145
146
6.0-6.9
154
139
178
168
142
152
151
1342
120
125%
5.0-5.9
Moderate
1,521
1,449
1,542
1,327
1,223
1,118
979
1,106
1,345
1,243
1,252
1,637
5.0-5.9
1,954
1,529
2,072
1,768
1,700
1,963
1,795
13192
800
224%
4.0-4.9
Light
5,153
5,034
4,544
8,140
8,794
7,938
7,303
7,042
8,084
8,084
8,454
10,783
4.0-4.9
13,702
13,048
12,105
12,292
6,980
10,403
9,535
13,000
6200
154%
Deaths
3,814
10,036
1,038
7,949
419
2,907
9,430
22,711
231
35,000-
40,000*
33,819
228,802
Deaths
88,003
6,605
712
88,011
1,790
320,159
20,662
10,000
10,000
206%
1 Based on observations since 1900.
2 Based on observations since 1990.
*NOTES: At the end of September 2003, the USGS adjusted earthquake global averages for magnitudes 4, 5, 6 and 7. Most have increased, one magnitude decreased in shaker averages. This indicates an overall increase in earthquake activity. To get a fair comparison, both the "old" and "new" averages are included in the chart above.
The exact number of deaths from the January 26, 2001 India earthquake will never be known. According to the Red Cross, "Death toll reports vary widely, with some ranging from more 20,000 to as many as 100,000."