1137. Catania, in Sicily, overturned, and 15,000 persons buried in
the ruins.
1186. At Calabria; one of its cities and all its inhabitants
overwhelmed in the Adriatic Sea.
1456. At Naples, 40,000 persons perished.
1537. At Lisbon; 1,500 houses and 30,000 persons buried in the
ruins; several neighboring towns ingulfed with their inhabitants.
1596. In Japan; several cities made ruins, and thousands perished.
1662. One in China, when 300,000 persons were buried in Pekin alone.
1693. One in Sicily, which overturned fifty-four cities and towns,
and 300 villages. Of Catania and its 18,000 inhabitants not a trace
remained; more than 100,000 lives were lost.
1726. Palermo nearly destroyed; 6,000 lives lost.
1731. Again in China; and 100,000 people swallowed up at Pekin.
1746. Lima and Callao demolished; 18,000 persons buried in the
ruins.
1754. At Grand Cairo; half of the houses and 40,000 persons
swallowed up.
1755. Quito destroyed.
1755. Great earthquake at Lisbon. In about eight minutes most of the
houses and upward of 50,000 inhabitants were swallowed up, and whole
streets buried. The cities of Coimbra, Oporto, and Braga suffered
dreadfully, and St. Ubes was wholly overturned. In Spain, a large
part of Malaga became ruins. One-half of Fez, in Morocco, was
destroyed, and more than 12,000 Arabs perished there. About half of
the Island of Madeira became waste; and 2,000 houses in the Island
of Mytilene, in the Archipelago, were overthrown. This awful
earthquake extended 5,000 miles; even to Scotland.
1759. In Syria, extended over 10,000 square miles; Baalbec
destroyed.
1783. Messina and other towns in Italy and Sicily overthrown; 40,000
persons perished.
1797. The whole country between Santa Fe and Panama destroyed,
including Cusco and Quito, 40,000 people buried.
1840. Awful and destructive earthquake at Mount Ararat, in one of
the districts of Armenia; 3,137 houses were overthrown, and several
hundred persons perished.
1842. At Cape Haytien, St. Domingo, which destroyed nearly
two-thirds of the town; between 4,000 and 5,000 lives were lost.
1851. In South Italy; Melfi almost laid in ruins; 14,000 lives lost.
1852. At Philippine Isles; Manila nearly destroyed.
1853. Thebes, in Greece, nearly destroyed.
1854. St. Salvador, South America, destroyed.
1854. Amasca, in Japan, and Simoda, in Nippon, destroyed; Jeddo much
injured.
1855. Broussa, in Turkey, nearly destroyed.
1857. In Calabria, Montemurro and many other towns destroyed, and
about 22,000 lives lost in a few seconds.
1858. Corinth nearly destroyed.
1859. At Quito; about 5,000 persons killed, and an immense amount of
property destroyed.
1868. Cities of Arequipa, Iquique, Tacna, and Chincha, and many
small towns in Peru and Ecuador destroyed; about 25,000 perished.
1883. Krakatoa island, between Sumatra and Java, East Indies, was
the scene of a series of volcanic discharges in May to August, 1883,
constituting the most tremendous eruption known to history. A cubic
mile of rock material was hurled into the air, and the explosions
were heard 150 miles away. Violent atmospheric disturbances and
gigantic sea-waves, the latter causing great loss of life, estimated
at more than 30,000. As a result of the explosion, the north part of
the island, including its highest peak, altogether disappeared.
1886. Shocks throughout eastern United States; at Charleston, S. C,
41 lives and $5,000,000 worth of property lost.
1893. Islands of Zante and Stromboli, the former west of Greece, the
latter one of the Lipari group, west of Calabria, Italy, severely
shaken. Great loss of lives and property at Zante.
1906. Severe shocks in California wrecked San Francisco and adjacent
towns, and caused the greatest fire in history, lasting two days.
Great loss of life, and $300,000,000 of property destroyed; over
300,000 homeless. Stanford University buildings were damaged to the
extent of $2,800,000, including the fine Memorial Church.
1906. At Valparaiso, Chile, causing great destruction of life and
property.
1907. Large part of Kingston, Jamaica, destroyed.
1909. In Sicily and southern Italy, Messina and many towns and
villages desolated. Appalling loss of life; thousands buried alive;
the survivors homeless; one of the greatest earthquakes of modern
times if not of all time.