The 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake occurred on July 17 with a moment magnitude of 7.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The event occurred on a reverse fault near the north coast region of Papua New Guinea, 25 kilometers (16 mi) from the coast near Aitape, and caused a large undersea landslide which caused a tsunami that hit the coast, killing between at least 2,183 and 2,700 people and injuring thousands.
An earthquake occurred in southern Mongolia on December 4, 1957, measuring Mw 7.8–8.1 and assigned XII (Extreme) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. Surface faulting was observed in the aftermath with peak vertical and horizontal scarp reaching 9 m (30 ft). Because of the extremely sparse population in the area, this event, despite its magnitude, was not catastrophic. However, 30 people died and the towns of Dzun Bogd, Bayan-leg and Baruin Bogd were completely destroyed.
The 1967 Caracas earthquake occurred in Caracas, Venezuela, and La Guaira, Vargas on 29 July at 8:00 p.m (UTC−04:00 at that time). Its epicenter took place in the litoral central (20 km from Caracas) and lasted 35 seconds. It heavily affected areas such as Altamira, Los Palos Grandes, and Litoral Central. In the aftermath of the earthquake, there were several aftershocks of lower intensity. The earthquake left a toll of 1,536 injured, 225–300 dead, and cost $50–140 million United States dollars in property damage.
The 1973 Veracruz earthquake, also known as El Terremoto de Orizaba, occurred at 3:50 a.m. local time (9:50 GMT) on August 28, 1973, with the epicenter located in the vicinity of Ciudad Serdán in the Mexican state of Puebla. It registered 7.1 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The effects were felt in the states of Veracruz and Puebla in southeast Mexico.
The 1951 East Rift Valley earthquakes (Chinese: 1951年縱谷地震系列; pinyin: 1951 nián Zònggǔ dìzhèn xìliè) were a series of earthquakes which struck eastern Taiwan from 22 October 1951 to 5 December 1951, four of which registered at 7 or greater on the moment magnitude scale, the largest of those being magnitude 7.3 and 7.8 quakes on November 24. Altogether the quakes killed 85 people.
The 1938 Kırşehir earthquake occurred at 12:59 local time on 19 April. It had an estimated surface wave magnitude of 6.7 and a maximum intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 224 casualties.
The 1987 Ecuador earthquakes occurred over a six-hour period on March 6. The sequence of shocks measured 6.7, 7.1, and 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale. The main shock had a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The earthquakes were centered in Napo Province in northeast Ecuador; the epicenters were on the eastern slopes of the Andes, about 75 km ENE of Quito and 25 km north of Reventador Volcano. The earthquakes caused about 1,000 deaths. Four thousand people were missing and damage was estimated at US$1 billion.
The 1982 North Yemen earthquake hit near the city of Dhamar, North Yemen (now part of Yemen) on December 13. Measuring 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale, with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale, as many as 2,800 people were killed and another 1,500 injured. The shock occurred within several hundred kilometers of a plate boundary in a geologically complex region that includes active volcanoes and seafloor spreading ridges. Yemen has a history of destructive earthquakes, though this was the first instrumentally recorded event to be detected on global seismograph networks.
The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake occurred at 12:29:44 a.m. local time (06:29:44 UTC) on December 23 near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It had a moment magnitude of 6.3 and a maximum MSK intensity of IX (Destructive). The epicenter was 28 km (17 mi) northeast of the city centre and a depth of about 10 km (6.2 mi). The earthquake caused widespread casualties among Managua's residents: 4,000–11,000 were killed, 20,000 were injured and over 300,000 were left homeless.
The 1944 San Juan earthquake took place in the province of San Juan, in the center-west area of Argentina, a region highly prone to seismic events. This moderate to strong earthquake (estimated moment magnitudes range from 6.7 to 7.8) destroyed a large part of San Juan, the provincial capital, and killed 10,000 of its inhabitants, 10% of its population at the time. One third of the province population became homeless. It is acknowledged as the worst natural disaster in Argentine history.
The earthquake occurred at 8:52 pm on 15 January 1944 and had its epicenter located 30 km north of the provincial capital, near La Laja in Albardón Department. Some 90% of the buildings in the city were destroyed and those left standing suffered such damage that in most cases they had to be demolished. It is considered that the reason for such widespread destruction was the low quality of construction, rather than just the power of the earthquake.
In 1944 many of San Juan's houses were made of adobe and the reconstruction programme prompted the creation of a building code that took into account contemporary knowledge of earthquakes and their effect on buildings. Stronger bricks were used, concrete single-story houses were erected and sidewalks and streets were made wider.