On May 31st...
M7.9 - Near the Coast of Northern Peru, 1970
70,000 deaths. One of the world's most destructive earthquakes. About 50,000 people were killed; 20,000 missing and presumed dead; and 150,000 injured in Ancash and La Libertad Departments from the earthquake and a catastrophic debris avalanche of rock, ice and mud which buried the town of Yungay, which had a population of about 20,000.
M5.9 - Ustukran, Turkey, 1946
840 to 1,300 deaths. One of the world's deadliest earthquakes. Several villages destroyed.
M7.9 - South of Alaska, 1917
One of the largest earthquakes in the United States.
M5.6 - Giles County, Virginia, 1897
The largest historical earthquake in Virginia. The shaking was felt severely at Narrows, about 3 kilometers west of Pearisburg. Here, the surface rolled in an undulating motion, water in springs became muddy, and water in some springs ceased to flow. The flow of water in springs also was disturbed in the area of Pearisburg, about 70 kilometers west of Roanoke, and Sugar Run.
View a Different Day
Disclaimer
All dates and times are displayed in UTC and not your local time or the local time near the epicenter. Also, the history displayed on this page defaults to the current date at UTC; please take this into consideration if you view this page and the day is either ahead or behind your local date. Earthquake names and magnitudes may differ slightly from what is currently in the ComCat Earthquake Catalog since the sources of each may be different.