THE TEN WORST EARTHQUAKES IN TERMS OF VICTIMS

Rank
Victims
Date
Event/Magnitude (2)
Place
1 255,000 1976 Earthquake (M 7.5) China
2 220,000 2004 Earthquake (Mw 9.0), tsunami in Indian Ocean Indonesia, Thailand, et al 
3 73,300 2005 Earthquake (Mw 7.6); aftershocks, landslides, floods Pakistan, India, et al
4 66,000 1970 Earthquake (M 7.7); rock slides  Peru
5 50,000 1990 Earthquake (M 7.7); landslides Iran
6 26,271 2003 Earthquake (M 6.5)  Iran
7 25,000 1978 Earthquake (M 7.7) in Tabas Iran
8 25,000 1988 Earthquake (M 6.9) Armenia, ex "USSR"
9 22,084 1976 Earthquake (M 7.5) Guatemala
10 19,118 1999 Earthquake (M 7.0) Turkey 

(1) Based on Swiss Re list of deadliest catastrophes, 1970-2005.
(2) M is general magnitude that indicates the strength of an earthquake at its epicentre. Mw measures the total energy released by an earthquake and is proportional to the size of the fracture surface and the displacement. The Richter magnitude ML is the maximum amplitude of the ground motion signal recorded on a standarized seismograph.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2006.