WORLD’S LARGEST EARTHQUAKES IN 2009

Abstract

Every year, the Earth is shaken by several hundred thousand earthquakes with magnitudes above 2.0, mostly originating from the tectonic plate boundaries. Earthquakes most frequently occur along two well-defined seismic belts, the circumPacific and the Mediterranean-Himalayan belts. The latter includes the region of Slovenia. Most earthquakes are weak and do not cause any material damage or claim human lives. However, there are dozens of earthquakes which result in extreme destruction and even death. There were 78 earthquakes in 2009 that reached a magnitude of 6.5 or more and caused minor or major damage to buildings and other structures, or even claimed human lives. Forty-one of them are described in detail. The most devastating earthquake in 2009 happened on 30 September in Southern Sumarta, Indonesia, when at least 1117 people were killed. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the medieval city of L’Aquila in central Italy on 6 April, killing 295 people. The 29 September earthquake in the Samoan Islands ranked first in terms of released energy, with a magnitude of 8.1 and claimed 197 human lives. The deepest earthquake occurred on 28 August in the Banda Sea with an epicentre 642 km below the surface and a magnitude of 6.9. In 2009, earthquakes claimed more than 1,790 casualties.