How Quake-Prone is Your Country?
An earthquake is always occurring somewhere on this planet at any given time. However, some countries are disproportionately affected due to how their location on the earth's crust is affected by movements that occur way below the surface, sometimes leading to devastating results. Here are the 20 most earthquake-prone countries in the world.
1. Japan
Japan's location on the Pacific Ring of Fire (a hotbed of seismic activity) makes it the most earthquake-prone country in the world. On average, it experiences 1,500 earthquakes a year, ranging from minor tremors to devastating shakes that sometimes cause tidal waves and tsunamis.
2. Indonesia
Another country that's located on the Pacific Ring of Fire is Indonesia. This country experiences medium to severe earthquakes pretty much daily, making them the largest threat in terms of natural disasters.
3. China
China's positioning where the Eurasian, Pacific, and Indian Ocean plates meet makes it highly earthquake-prone. It's been struck by some of the most devastating quakes ever recorded, with severe ones happening once every seven years on average.
4. Iran
Iran, located atop two shifting tectonic plates, has a high risk of earthquakes. Due to the country's poor infrastructure, these seismic events are often devastating, with even medium-severity earthquakes often causing deaths.
5. Nepal
This hilly country is located at the boundary of two plates, which makes it very earthquake-prone.
Last year alone, Nepal recorded over 70 medium-strength earthquakes.
6. New Zealand
New Zealand is highly prone to earthquakes due to its location on a fault line. Based on its data, the country should experience over 50 magnitude five (out of a scale of nine) earthquakes each year and one highly damaging magnitude eight or nine earthquake every century.
7. USA
Some American states, including California, Hawaii, and Alaska, have an extremely high seismic hazard because of their location on fault lines. Some regions have a 95 percent chance of experiencing a high-magnitude earthquake in the next century.
8. Chile
This South American country's location near a convergent plate boundary makes it very prone to devastating earthquakes. The strongest earthquake ever recorded occurred in the Chilean city of Valdivia in 1960.
9. Turkey
Because of this country's location at the crossroads of three plates, not just two, the earthquakes that occur here are some of the strongest. Turkey recorded more than 22,000 earthquakes in 2022 with one particularly deadly quake killing over 2,000 people last year.
10. India
Around 60 percent of India is vulnerable to earthquakes, particularly in the Himalayan region. The beautiful mountains were likely caused by their location on top of shifting plates in the first place. The largest earthquake ever recorded in India had a magnitude of 8.
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11. Italy
Italy is another high-risk earthquake zone due to its location near the convergence of two plates. The most powerful earthquake in Europe occurred in Southern Italy in 1908.
12. El Salvador
El Salvador is the most earthquake-prone country in the region due to its location near a fault line. Because of its coastal setting, the tsunami risk is also high with 15 on record between 1859 and 2012.
Esaú Fuentes González on Unsplash
13. Peru
Near the Peruvian coast is the meeting place of the Nazca and South American tectonic plates, making Peru highly prone to earthquakes. Earthquakes in the country are common, with the largest recorded coming in at 8.8 out of nine on the Richter Scale.
Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash
14. Mexico
Mexico is located in a subduction zone, which is a place where one piece of the Earth's crust is slowly sliding beneath another. That, and the fact that it's sitting on the junction of five different tectonic plates, makes it a recipe for a seismic disaster.
15. Ecuador
Due to its location on the Ring of Fire, earthquakes are common in Ecuador, with big ones happening every 20 to 30 years. The largest Ecuadorian earthquake on record was 8.6 magnitude and happened in 1906.
16. Pakistan
An active fault line in northern Pakistan makes the country susceptible to earthquakes. Add that together with its vulnerability to floods, cyclones, and excessive heat, and you have one of the most natural disaster-prone countries in the world.
17. The Philippines
The Philippines is located on the western edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire, making this country one of the most earthquake-prone places in the world. An earthquake occurs here every 11 hours on average.
CEphoto, Uwe Aranas on Wikimedia
18. Haiti
The small island country of Haiti sits where the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates converge, making it prone to almost daily earthquakes. The country is still struggling to recover from a disastrous seven-magnitude earthquake that happened in 2010, rendering millions homeless and killing over 300,000.
19. Greece
Because Greece is situated where the Eurasian and African tectonic plates meet, it's highly earthquake-prone. However, Greek infrastructure is generally earthquake-proof, so the country normally manages to incur minimal to no damage even when strong quakes hit.
20. Taiwan
Taiwan's location along the Ring of Fire makes it highly earthquake-prone, with 2,000 middle to severe-strength earthquakes recorded since 1980. The country's most severe earthquake in recent times killed over 2,000 people, injured over 100,000, and destroyed thousands of buildings, prompting the government to put in place groundbreaking earthquake preparation procedures.
