Worst of the Century

The deadliest earthquakes in this century have occurred in the Far East, Latin America and the Mediterranean. By far the most lethal was a temblor that devastated the city of Tangshan, China, in July 1976. While Peking later put the official death toll at 242,000, other estimates ranged as high as 750,000. The great San Francisco quake of 1906 was the most powerful in modern U.S. history; the tremor and resulting fires resulted in 700 casualties--not enough to make the list. Nor will last week's disaster in Mexico City, despite the heavy damage, unless the death total reaches 30,000. The ten most destructive quakes:

DATE PLACE DEATH TOLL RICHTER

July 28, 1976 China 242,000 8.0

May 22, 1927 China 200,000 8.3

Dec. 16, 1920 China 180,000 8.6

Sept. 1, 1923 Japan 43,000 8.3

Dec. 28, 1908 Italy 75,000 7.5

Dec. 26, 1932 China 70,000 7.6

May 31, 1970 Peru 66,794 7.8

Jan. 24, 1939 Chile 30,000 8.3

May 31, 1935 India 30,000 7.5

Jan. 13, 1915 Italy 29,970 7.0