What Country Had the Largest Recorded Earthquake?

What country had the largest recorded earthquake? The country that has had the latest earthquake on record as of 2010 is the country of Chile. Lets learn more about this large earthquake, what caused it and the area where this largest recorded earthquake occurred.

The largest earthquake ever recorded in history took place in the southern region of Chile on May 22nd, 1960.

• The quake’s center was near the city of Canete, Chile.
• It was classified as the largest earthquake based on its magnitude, which was measured at 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale

• It is referred to as the Valdivia earthquake due to the proximity of the city of Valdivia (and otherwise known as the Great Chilean Earthquake)
• The disaster itself, while huge in scale, was not the main cause of resulting destruction. The earthquake’s sheer force resulted in a series of after-effect disasters, each causing its own swath of destruction that added to the overall toll of the event.

Other earthquakes have been recorded as causing more damage or taking up more square footage, so these might provide a different answer to where the big earthquakes occur and what country has had the largest recorded damage from an earthquake, but the Chilean quake is considered the largest when measured by the force of the quake itself.

Cause of the Earthquake

According to scientists, the Great Chilean Earthquake and its high magnitude were the caused by the result of stress releasing between the shifting plates of the region’s landscape; the southern region of Chile is particularly prone to this type of activity according to geologists.

The volatility of the shifting in this area has caused most researchers to predict similar activity in the same area not long into the future; an earthquake of 8.8 magnitude was recorded just north of this same location in February of 2010. 

After Affects of the Earthquake

One major after-effect of the quake was a tsunami that went on to wreak havoc over all of southern Chile as well as Hawaii, the Philippines, Alaska, parts of Japan and even eastern parts of Australia and New Zealand. It caused the devastation of the city of Hilo in Hawaii. 

The earthquake also set off landslides, which were mainly in mountainous regions but did cause some damage in populated areas in southern Chile. One landslide in particular blocked Rinihue Lake, which is ordinarily drained by the activity of the San Pedro River. The river was stopped by the slide and caused the lake to threaten a major flood; last-minute efforts to dam the area managed to lower the water level and avoid total disaster. 

The toll from the quake combined with the after effects was astronomical. Estimates of the total number of deaths range in the 2000s to 6000s; monetary damage rated about $800 million (1960) US. 

The city of Valdivia was the most impacted by the quake. Approximately 20,000 people were left homeless when nearly half of the city’s buildings were destroyed.

So, now you know which country has had the largest earthquake on record as of 2010, as well as some key facts about the devastating quake.