46 dead as 5.6-magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia: A look at 10 deadliest earthquakes ever

At least 46 people have died and more than 700 injured in a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that shook the Java Island of Indonesia on Monday (November 21). The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the quake was centred in the Cianjur region of West Java and the tremors were strongly felt in the capital Jakarta, where panicked people came ou on the streets.

What happened? News agency AFP reported that hundreds of houses might have been damaged in the earthquake. The local administration chief in the town said that most of the deaths were counted in one hospital alone, without providing a specific figure as many other villages had to be rescued.

As per the local media, shops, a hospital and an Islamic boarding school in the town were badly damaged. The rescue operations are on and the death figure could rise.

In the past, big earthquakes have killed thousands of people. We take a look at the 10 deadliest quakes:

1. Shaanxi earthquake, China, Jan 23, 1556

It is known as one of the deadliest earthquakes in the history of the world. The earthquake was centered in the northwestern Shaanxi province (formerly Shensi) on January 23, 1556. Around 8,30,000 people were estimated to have died in the tragedy. 

Some 840 kilometres of the area was devastated by the earthquake and nearly 60 per cent of the region's population was killed.

2. Tanghshan earthquake, China July 28, 1976

The earthwauke in Tangshan is considered to be the second deadliest earthquake in the history. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake caused the death of around 2,55,000 people and around 800,000 people were injured in the disaster. The ten-second quake had damaged caused damage as far away as Bejing.

3. Aleppo earthquake, Syria October 11, 1138

The third deadliest earthquake in history, the Aleppo earthquake struck the Syrian Aleppo province on October 11 in 1138. More than 2,30,000 people lost their lives in the tragedy.

4. Sumatra earthquake , Indonesia, December 26, 2004

The 9.1 magnitude earthquake killed around 2,27,000 people and around 50,000 people had reportedly disappeared after the earthquake and the subsequent Tsunami. Nearly 1.7 million people were also displaced.

5. Haiti earthquake, January 12, 2010

The Haiti earthquake killed more than 2,22,000 people and displaced around 300,000. It was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake which destroyed as many as 100,000 houses.

6. Damghan earthquake, Iran, December 22 , 856

The Damghan earthquake took place on December 22, 856 AD. The earthquake that struck Iran's northeast Semnan province had killed 2,00,000 people. It is considered as one of the worst earthquakes in Iranian history.

7. Haiyuan earthquake, China, December 16, 1920

It is also called as the Ganyanchi earthquake which happened on December 16, 1920 and took the lives of more than 2,00,000 people.

8. Ardabil earthquake, Iran, March 23, 893

The Ardabi earthquake struck the city of Ardabil in Iran on March 23, 893 and it killed more than 1,50,000 people.

9. Kanto earthquake, Japan, September 1, 1923

In Japan's history, the Kanto earthquake was the deadliest. Around 1,42,000 people were killed in the 7.9 manitude earthquake. Major destruction was seen in the Tokyo-Yokohama rea of Japan. More than 380 houses were also damaged in the earthquake.

10. Ashgbat earthquake, Turkmenistan, October 5, 1948

The earthquake took place in Ashgabat, capital city of Turkmenistan. More than 1,10,000 people had lost thier lives in it.