WORLD'S LARGEST EARTHQUAKES IN 2008

Abstract

Every year the Earth is shaken by several hundred thousand earthquakes with magnitudes over 2.0 (Dolgoff, 1998), mostly originating at the geotectonic plate boundaries. Two well-defined seismic belts, the circum-Pacific and the Mediterranean-Himalayan belts, are subject to the most frequent shocks. The latter also includes the region of Slovenia. Most earthquakes are weak and do not cause any material damage and do not claim human lives. In addition to these, there are several earthquakes which result in extreme destruction and even death. In 2008 there were 93 earthquakes that either reached a magnitude of 6.5 or more, caused minor or major material damage, or even claimed human lives. Fifty of them are mentioned in this article. The most devastating earthquake of 2008 happened on 12 May in Eastern Sichuan, China, and at least 87,652 people were killed. It was also ranked first in terms of released energy, with a moment magnitude of 7,9. The deepest earthquake happened on 7 July in the Sea of Okhotsk with a hypocentre 633 km below the surface and a moment magnitude of 7.7. In 2008, earthquakes claimed more than 88,076 human lives.