Here is a factbox showing the 10 strongest earthquakes in the last century by magnitude.
The massive earthquake that rocked Chile on February 27 was one of the most powerful ever recorded.
The quake, which had a magnitude of 8.8, killed more than 700 people.
Here is a factbox showing the 10 strongest earthquakes in the last century by magnitude.
May 22, 1960 - Chile - An earthquake measuring 9.5 struck Santiago and Concepcion, triggering tidal waves and volcanic eruptions. Some 5,000 people were killed and 2 million made homeless.
March 28, 1964 - Alaska - An earthquake and ensuing tsunami killed 125 people and caused about $311 million in property loss. The quake, measuring 9.2, was felt over a large area of Alaska and in parts of western Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Canada.
December 26, 2004 - Indonesia - A 9.1 quake struck the coast of Aceh province on the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra and set off a tsunami that killed more than 226,306 in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and India.
November 4, 1952 - Russia - An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 generated a tsunami that reached the Hawaiian islands. No lives were lost.
February 27, 2010 - Chile - An 8.8 magnitude quake struck Chile, wrecking hundreds of thousands of homes, mangling highways and bridges. It dealt a heavy blow to infrastructure in the world's No. 1 copper producer and one of Latin America's most stable economies. The government said more than 700 people died.
January 31, 1906 - Ecuador - An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 struck near the coast of Ecuador and Colombia, generating a strong tsunami that killed up to 1,000. It was felt all along the coast of Central America and as far north as San Francisco and west to Japan.
February 4, 1965 - Alaska - Measuring 8.7, the quake generated a tsunami reported to be about 35 feet (10.7 metres) high on Shemya Island.
March 28, 2005 - A magnitude 8.7 quake off Sumatra was estimated to have killed 1,300 people, many on Nias island off Sumatra's west coast.
March 9, 1957 - Alaska - An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.6 rattled the Andreanof Islands. On Umnak Island, Mount Vsevidof erupted after being dormant for 200 years, generating a 50-foot (15 metre) tsunami that continued to Hawaii.
August 15, 1950 - TibetIndia - Two thousand homes, temples and mosques were destroyed in a quake measuring 8.6. Hardest hit was the Brahmaputra Basin in northeast India. At least 1,500 people were killed.
Source Reuters US Geological Survey Earthquake web site - http:earthquake.usgs.gov.
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