A NETWORK OF FAULTS
Region has been hit many times by temblors that killed thousands
A Venezuelan flag waves July 29 in Caraballeda, La Guaira, Venezuela, as people search for the bodies of their loved ones beneath rubble five days after earthquakes rocked the country, killing and displacing thousands of people.
Jose Luis Pacheco digs a tunnel in search of six of his family members following the June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela.
LATIN AMERICA
More than 275 people were killed when a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia early Aug. 10, knocking down buildings across several cities and leaving other people trapped in the rubble.
The earthquake, which struck just days after right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in as president, came on the heels of devastating twin quakes that hit neighboring Venezuela in June, killing more than 6,000 people.
Latin America sits atop a complex network of fault lines and has suffered some of the world's most destructive earthquakes. Here is a look at 10 of the region's deadliest:
1 The 2010 Haiti Earthquake
Death toll: 316,000
Magnitude: 7.0
Despite registering a weaker magnitude than other quakes on this list, the 2010 Haiti earthquake was the second-deadliest in history, following only the 1556 Shaanxi Province quake in China that left an estimated 830,000 dead.
This earthquake was particularly deadly because it struck the densely populated capital, Port-au-Prince, which lacked strong infrastructure and buildings designed to withstand heavy shaking. Poor building practices, concrete buildings and a lack of services to respond to the disaster all contributed to the high death toll.
The earthquake led to an estimated $8 billion in losses, nearly 120% of the country's 2009 GDP.
2 The 1868 Ecuador-Colombia Earthquakes
Death toll: 70,000
Magnitude: 7.7
Starting with a smaller-intensity earthquake in the early hours of Aug. 15 and culminating with 7.7 magnitude shaking the next morning, this cluster of earthquakes destroyed several towns and led to an estimated 40,000 dead in Ecuador and 30,000 dead in Colombia.
In a book published that year documenting the disaster, a government commission wrote that the city of Ibarra was asleep when the earthquake struck at 1:15 a.m. The book stated: "In less than three seconds (Ibarra) was turned into a large and dismal burial ground. Almost all of its population buried under the ruins of their own bedrooms."
3 The 1970 Peru Earthquake
Death toll: 66,794
Magnitude: 7.9
This undersea earthquake triggered the deadliest landslide in history after it destabilized the northern wall of Peru's tallest mountain. The mass of glacial ice and rock picked up speed and debris as it hurtled toward the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca at speeds of up to 208 mph.
The landslide reached the towns with almost 2.8 billion cubic feet of ice and rocks, burying them in up to 13 feet of sludge. An estimated 19,000 people died in Yungay while just 2,500 survived. Up to 70% of other towns, including Chimbote and Huaras, was destroyed. Almost one million people were left homeless.
4 The 1797 Ecuador Earthquake
Death toll: 40,000
Magnitude: 8.3
The most powerful known earthquake to strike Ecuador, this temblor hit the second-highest level on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale, which measures effects experienced by people.
The quake triggered landslides and caused widespread destruction across Ecuador, including in Quito, Riobamba, Latacunga and Ambato. Historians and witness accounts describe violent shaking that leveled buildings within seconds.
5 The 1939 Chile Earthquake
Death toll: 30,000
Magnitude: 8.3
Chile is known for the strongest recorded earthquake in history — a 9.5 magnitude in 1960 — yet it was the 1939 quake in the southern city of Chillan that marked the country's deadliest.
In a book documenting Chilean earthquakes, seismologist Cinna Lomnitz said 5 weak construction materials, such as adobe, along with a "virtual absence of engineering design or provisions against lateral force," contributed to the high death toll.
The earthquake destroyed the cities of Chillan and Concepcion and led to Chile's first anti-seismic building code.
6 The 1812 Venezuela Earthquake
Death toll: 26,000
Magnitude: 7.7
A 1962 analysis suggests this event was actually a trio of earthquakes triggered by one another and in close proximity. They destroyed about 90% of Caracas and caused thousands of deaths in Barquisimeto, Merida, La Guaira and San Felipe.
The disaster struck during Venezuela's revolutionary war against Spain, which Spanish authorities called divine punishment against the revolutionaries. The United States sent food and money to Venezuela, in an early example of offering foreign aid.
7 The 1868 Arica Earthquake
Death toll: 25,000
Magnitude: 8.5
This earthquake struck the city of Arica in what was then Peru, now Chile, destroying the cities of Arica, Arequipa, Moquegua, Mollendo and Ilo.
The force also caused a tsunami that razed Peruvian port cities and caused devastating waves as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand.
8 The 1976 Guatemala Earthquake
Death toll: 23,000
Magnitude: 7.5
After striking a highly populated area including the capital, Guatemala City, at 3 a.m., this earthquake caused damage across at least 38,000 square miles. Adobe houses were obliterated and strong aftershocks caused more deaths. Almost 1.2 million people were left homeless and about twofifths of the country's hospitals were destroyed.
9 The 1797 Venezuela Earthquake
Death toll: 16,000
Magnitude: N/A
German geographer and naturalist Baron Alexander von Humboldt documented this quake that destroyed the town of Cumana and the surrounding area.
Witnesses reported loud underground noises and the smell of sulfur before the quake, and an 1855 catalog of past earthquakes described "flames came up from the earth, followed by a subterranean noise like bubbling, and then (followed) by shocks" near the bay of Cariago.
10 The 1861 Argentina Earthquake
Death toll: 14,000
Magnitude: N/A
The quake hit close to midnight and destroyed most buildings, including the San Francisco Basilica, in the city of Mendoza. The ubiquitous gas lamps of the era contributed to fires that tore through the rubble and lasted for days, leading to widespread pillaging and looting.
The Significant Earthquake Database does not provide the quake's magnitude, but other records estimate it reached magnitude 7.2.
*All data compiled from the National Centers for Environmental Information and World Data Service for Geophysics Significant Earthquake Database
