Deadliest Earthquakes of the 21st Century (2001 to October 9, 2026)
All 23 earthquakes with 1,000+ deaths (NOAA NCEI, incl. tsunami deaths), sized by death class · USGS ShakeMap shaking for 23, contours for the ten deadliest
Deaths per earthquake
100,000+ (2)
20,000–99,999 (5)
5,000–19,999 (4)
1,000–4,999 (12)
MMI VI contour
MMI VII contour
MMI VIII contour
MMI IX contour
DYFI VIII or more (severe+; CDI 7.5 or more)
DYFI VI–VII (strong to very strong; CDI 5.5–7.4)
DYFI IV–V (light to moderate; CDI 3.5–5.4)
DYFI I–III (not felt to weak; CDI under 3.5)
Aftershock M6.0 or more
Aftershock M5.0–5.9
Aftershock M4.5–4.9
Tsunami 20 m or more
Tsunami 10–19.9 m
Tsunami 5–9.9 m
Tsunami 1–4.9 m
Tsunami under 1 m
Tsunami, height not given
Finite-fault rupture model
Slip 10 m or more
Slip 6–9.9 m
Slip 3–5.9 m
Slip 1–2.9 m
Deaths: NOAA NCEI Significant Earthquake Database. Epicentres and contours: USGS ComCat / ShakeMap. Click a dot for magnitude, depth, deaths and what DisasterAWARE recorded. ShakeMap shading (MODELED) is on at load for every quake on the list with a ShakeMap. Toggle the layer list for felt reports, aftershocks, tsunami heights and fault-rupture models (MODELED = USGS model output; OBSERVED = measured or reported). Intensity classes on this map (dots, raster shading, felt reports) use the nearest whole intensity (VIII = 7.5 to under 8.5), as on USGS's own event pages and DYFI maps; the contour lines are ShakeMap's whole-number lines (the VIII line is 8.0).
ShakeMap intensity (MMI, MODELED)
IV light to X extreme (X: Myanmar 2025 and Türkiye–Syria 2023 only); IV fades at the edge of each ShakeMap's area.
All 23 quakes, latest USGS version (15 ShakeMap Atlas, 8 operational). Nearest whole intensity; where maps overlap, the higher shows. Grid peak above the dot's (USGS headline) for 3, same class.
