1 VALDIVIA, CHILE
MAY 22, 1960
MAGNITUDE: 9.5
This earthquake killed 1,655 people, injured 3,000, and left two million homeless. It caused $550 million damage, while the tsunami caused deaths and damage as far away as Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines. The quake’s cracked the ground more than 600 miles long. Two days after the initial quake, the nearby volcano Puyehue erupted, sending ash and steam up to 3 miles into the atmosphere over a period of several weeks.
2 PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, ALASKA
MARCH 28, 1964
MAGNITUDE: 9.2
The resulting tsunami took 128 lives and caused overall $311 million in damage. The earthquake was felt mainly over Alaska, as well as some places in Canada, while the tsunami created by it caused damage as far away as Hawaii. The…