Strong earthquakes this year

The earthquake in China on April 14 was just one of dozens of strong earthquakes that occurred from the beginning of the year.

Rescuers search for victims in an earthquake building in Qinghai Province on April 14.Photo: AFP.

January 12: A 7.3-magnitude Richter geologic flattening most of the capital of Port-au-Prince of Haiti and surrounding areas. This is the worst earthquake in nearly two centuries in the Caribbean region.

This disaster killed about 270,000 people and directly affected 1.5 million others. More than 500,000 people leave the capital. Total material damage is about 7 billion USD, equivalent to more than 120% of Haiti's gross domestic product.

February 27: Super earthquake with an intensity of 8.8 on the Richter scale and tsunami destroys roads and many cities in central and southern Chile. This is the biggest earthquake since 1950 in Chilean history. The disaster robbed the lives of about 500 people and caused physical damage of about $ 30 billion.

February 28: A 6.2-magnitude aftershock occurs in central Chile exactly one day after the February 27 earthquake.

March 5: Chile's Biobio region shakes by a seismic intensity of 6.6 on the Richter scale. This is a aftershock of the February 27 earthquake. In about 12 hours earlier, scientists reported 7 aftershocks with a magnitude of more than 5 Richter levels.

March 6: The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits the southwestern region of Sumatra island, Indonesia. Its epicenter is located at a depth of 20 km.

March 8: At least 38 people are killed and dozens injured by a 6-magnitude seismic in Elazig province in eastern Turkey.

March 11: Three aftershocks, in which the first aftershock with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale, appears within 25 minutes of the new President's inauguration. Mobile phone services stop working, and landline phone services are interrupted by earthquakes. However, aftershocks do not cause damage to humans.

March 14: The 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked northeastern Japan, creating large waves in the areas of Miyagi, Tochigi, Iwate, Aomori and Akita. People in most of Tokyo's buildings also felt earthquakes.

On the same day, a 7-magnitude seismic occurred in many areas of eastern Indonesia, but did not cause human damage.

March 15: The coast of Concepcion, Chile shakes by aftershocks with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale just before midnight. The earthquake caused the whole city to lose power because many power transmission systems were destroyed. This is one of more than 200 aftershocks since the February 27 earthquake in this South American country.

March 25: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake rocked the Philippine capital Manila.

March 26-28: Chile continues to shake by two consecutive aftershocks, with magnitudes of 6.2 and 6.1 Richter.

April 11: The Baja California State shakes by an earthquake with an intensity of 7.2 on the Richter scale. At least one person in the city of Mexicali - the capital of Baja California state - was killed.