21 September 1999: Taiwan is hit by a quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, which causes damage to every town in the island.

7 September 1999 - Greece - : The northern suburbs of the Greek capital Athens are hit by an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale.

August 17 1999 - Izmit, Turkey - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey on August 17 under the city of Izmit. The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city and the surrounding area, leaving tens of thousands dead, and hundreds of thousands injured or homeless.

March 1999 - Uttar Pradesh in northern India is hit by two earthquakes in as many days, killing more than 100.

January 1999 - Columbia - A shock measuring 6.0 kills up to 1,000 in the Colombian town of Armenia.

November 29 1998 - Ceram Sea - 8.1 At least 34 people killed on Mangole and 153 people injured on Mangole and Taliabu. Seven people killed, 8 injured and several buildings damaged at Manado, Sulawesi. A timber factory sustained extensive damage and dozens of houses destroyed on Mangole. Landslides blocked a highway on Mangole. Felt (VI) at Luwuk and (I) at Palu, Sulawesi. Also felt (IV) on Ternate and (III) on Ambon.

July 1998 - New Guinea - More than 1,000 are killed after a tsunami or sea wave, caused by an undersea earthquake, wipes out communities on the north-western coast of Papua New Guinea.

June 1998: Adana in south-eastern Turkey is shaken by an earthquake measuring 6.3 which claims 144 lives. A week later the same area suffers two strong aftershocks, leaving more than 1,000 people injured.

May 1998 - Northern Afghanistan is hit by a major earthquake, killing 4,000 people.

March 25 1998 - Balleny Islands - 8.3

10 May 1997 - IRAN - Up to 2,400 people were killed and thousands injured when an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale rocked rural areas of eastern Iran. The quake levelled 11 villages and inflicted heavy damage on the towns of Qaen and Birjand near its epicentre, about 150 km (90 miles) from the border with Afghanistan.

See the IRAN SPECIAL REPORT

February 1997 - IRAN - A quake measuring 5.5 tears apart rural areas of north-western Iran, killing 1,000 people. Three months later a stronger tremor, measuring 7.1, kills 1,560 in eastern Iran

February 17 1996 - Indonesia - 8.2 At least 108 people killed, 423 injured, 58 missing, 5,043 houses destroyed or damaged in the epicentral area. Extensive damage on Biak and Supiori from the tsunami, which reached heights of 7 meters in many areas. Also damage along the north coast of Irian Jaya from Manokwari to Sarmi.

October 09 1995 - Jalisco, Mexico - 8.0 At least 38 people killed, 200 injured, nearly 1,000 homeless and substantial damage in the Cihuatlan-Manzanillo area. Ten other people were killed in the state of Jalisco and one person was injured at Puerto Vallarta. Damage occurred in the states of Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco and Michoacan. Felt strongly at Mexico City. Felt as far as Dallas and Houston, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Tsunami generated with maximum wave heights (peak-to-trough) recorded at the following tide stations: 200 cm at Manzanillo, 50 cm at Cabo San Lucas, 20 cm on Isla Socorro and 12 cm at Kahului, Hawaii. Complex event with major subevent occurring about 35 seconds after onset observed on broadband displacement seismograms.

July 30 1995 - Northern Chile - 8.0 Three people were killed, 58 injured, 630 left homeless and 115 houses destroyed (VII) in the Antofagasta area. Landslides blocked several roads in the Antofagasta area. One person was injured at Mejillones. Several houses were damaged at Calama, Mejillones, San Pedro de Atacama, Taltal and Tocopilla. Felt (VI) at Baquedano, Chuquicamata, Copiapo, Diego de Almagro, Inca de Oro, Iquique, Mejillones, Peine, Sierra Gorda, Taltal, Tierra Amarilla and Tocopilla; (V) at Chanaral, El Salvador, Huasco and Vallenar; (IV) at Arica, Caldera and La Serena. Felt in Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Jujuy, La Rioja, Mendoza, Salta and San Juan Provinces and as far away as Buenos Aires, Argentina. Also felt in southern Peru and (III) at La Paz, Bolivia. Tsunami generated with maximum wave heights (peak- to-trough, in cm) recorded at the following selected tide stations: 55 at Valparaiso, Chile; 10 on Easter Island; 75 at Hilo, 70 at Kahului, 15 at Honolulu and 12 at Nawiliwili, Hawaii; 27 at Crescent City, 25 at Santa Monica, 11 at San Diego and 10 at Los Angeles, California; 30 at Adak, 21 at Sand Point, 20 on Shemya, 10 at Kodiak and 9 at Seward, Alaska; 25 at Pago Pago, American Samoa; 9 at Papeete, Tahiti; 29 at Miyako and 26 at Hachinohe, Japan.

28 May 1995 - RUSSIA - Russia's worst ever earthquake killed about 1,989 people in the Far East Russian oil-producing town of Neftegorsk, on the north of the remote Sakhalin Island. The quake measured 7.5 on the Richter scale.

April 07 1995 - Tonga Islands - 8.0 Felt at Apia, Western Samoa. Local tsunami generated with recorded maximum wave heights (peak-to-trough) of about 30 cm at Pago Pago, American Samoa and about 5 cm on Niue Island.

17 Jan 1995 - JAPAN - At least 6,055 people were killed after a strong earthquake ripped through central Japan. Measuring 7.2on the Richter scale, the earthquake, centred around the port of Kobe, was the biggest quake to hit Japan in half a century.

October 04 1994 - Kuril Islands - 8.3 At least 10 people killed or missing and extensive damage on Iturup; extensive damage and possibly some deaths and injuries on Kunashir, Shikotan and other islands in the Kuril chain from the earthquake and tsunami. One person died from a heart attack, at least 340 people injured and extensive damage occurred along the east coast of Hokkaido, Japan. Felt strongly in northern Honshu and also felt in the Tokyo area, Japan. Tsunami wave heights from selected tide stations (peak-to-trough) were as follows: 346 cm. at Hanasaki, 164 cm. at Kushiro, 162 cm. at Chichijima, 144 cm. at Miyako, 130 cm. at Hachinohe, 92 cm. at Ofunato, 62 cm. at Onahama, 46 cm. at Omae-zaki, 42 cm. at Choshi and 26 cm. at Abashiri, Japan; 300 cm. at Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Kunashir Island, 15 cm. at Shemya, Alaska, 17 cm. at Wake Island, 50 cm. at Midway Island and 48 cm. at Hilo, Hawaii.

June 09 1994 - Northern Bolivia - Unconfirmed reports of five people killed in Peru; three in Arequipa Province by a landslide collapsing their house and two in Cuzco Province; one by falling debris and another by a heart attack. Numerous injuries and landslides occurred in southern Peru. Damage (VI) at La Paz. In Cochabamba, La Paz and Oruro, a large number of windows broke in tall buildings, and some structural damage occurred. Some minor structural damage also occurred at Brasilia, Campo Grande, Porto Velho and Manaus, Brazil; Arica, Chile and Tacna, Peru. Felt in many parts of South America, including most of Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. Felt lightly in Uruguay. Felt (IV) at Arequipa, Moquegua, Puno and Tacna; (III) at Moyobamba, Rioja and Tarapoto, Peru. Felt (IV) at Arica, (III) at Iquique, (II) at Copiapo and (I) at Santiago, Chile. Felt (IV) at Guayaquil and (III) at Quito, Ecuador. Felt on Puerto Rico and in the Dominican Republic. Felt at many locations in North America, including Los Angeles, California; Renton, Washington; Omaha, Nebraska; Sioux City, Iowa; Minneapolis, Minnesota; La Crosse, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; Parkersburg, West Virginia; Norwich, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts and Toronto, Ontario. This is believed to be the first earthquake from this part of South America to be felt in North America and is also believed to be the largest ever recorded in this general area.

06 Jun 1994 - COLOMBIA - Some 1,000 killed in an earthquake and mudslide disaster in the Paez River valley in southwestern Colombia.

August 08 1993 - Guam 8.0 - Forty-eight people injured on Guam. Extensive damage (IX) to hotels in the Tumon Bay area. Cracks tens of meters long and 25-50 cm wide, caused by liquefaction in the underlying soil, damaged facilities at the commercial port and naval base at Apra Harbor. Damage (VII) occurred at several locations in the northern half of the island. One end of the approach to a bridge at Pago Bay fell more than 35 cm. Many landslides and rockslides were reported, mainly in the southern half of the island. The preliminary estimate of loss from damage to commercial buildings is placed at 112 million U.S. dollars and loss from damage to private residences is estimated at several million U.S. dollars. Slight damage (V) on Saipan. Felt (VI) on Rota and (V) on Tinian. Tsunami generated with maximum wave heights at selected tide stations as follows: 98 cm at Muroto-misaki, Shikoku; 68 cm on Chichi-shima, Bonin Islands; 58 cm at Tosashimizu, Shikoku; 56 cm at Aburatsu, Kyushu; 46 cm at Mera and Owase, Honshu; 44 cm at Ayukawahama, Honshu; 42 cm at Omae-zaki, Honshu; 34 cm at Hanasaki and Kushimoto, Honshu, 34 cm at Hirara, Ryukyu Islands; 28 cm at Ofunato, Honshu; 24 cm at Kochi, Shikoku; 19 cm at Port Allen, Kauai; 15 cm at Lahania, Maui; 14 cm at Haleiwa, Oahu; 12 cm at Hachinohe, Honshu and Kahului, Maui; 7 cm at Kapoho, Hawaii and Nawiliwili, Kauai; 5 cm at Honokohau, Hawaii.

12 Dec 1992 - INDONESIA - A string of islands in the province of East Nusa Tenggara was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale. At least 2,200 people were killed. 1,490 died in Maumere, on the island of Flores, which took the brunt of the quake. Another 700 were confirmed dead in Babi island .

October 1989 - California - The Loma Prieta earthquake hits California, killing 68 people.

May 23 1989 - Macquarie Islands Region - Felt (V) on Campbell Island. Also felt on Macquarie Island. Small tsunami reported along the southeastern coast of Tasmania and in Jervis Bay and Sydney Harbour, Australia.

7 Dec 1988 - SOVIET UNION - More than 25,000 killed, 18,000 injured. 6.9 Richter, 10 on Soviet 12-point scale. NW Armenia. The town of Spitak almost totally destroyed and Leninakan, half-destroyed.

1964 Alaska - 9.2 magnitude This bad boy shredded the earth under entire Anchorage neighborhoods, dropping houses -- and humans -- into fissures. Although nearly every high-rise apartment in the city was subsequently condemned, only 131 people died in the quake.

1 Sep 1962 - IRAN - An earthquake struck northwest Iran near Ghazvin, resulting in the deaths of 12,000 people, and the destruction of over 300 surrounding villages.

1935 - Taiwan - A tremor measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, which kills 3,276 people.

13 May 1935 - INDIA - 30,000 people were killed in an earthquake which struck the hill station of Quetta, in British-ruled Baluchistan.

1931 - Dogger Bank - Britain's most violent earthquake, with its epicentre on the Dogger Bank in the North Sea, is recorded at 5.5 on the Richter scale. There are few casualties.

1 Sep 1923 - Kanto, JAPAN - An earthquake estimated at 7.9 on the Richter Scale struck Tokyo and Yokahama, making 2.5 million people homeless. Floods followed as the rivers Fukuro, Chiyo, and Takimi burst their banks. At least 142,000 people were killed, although unofficial estimates say as many as 300,000 may have died.

28 Dec 1908 - ITALY - Over 82,000 people were killed in an earthquake which reduced Messina, Sicily's second largest town, to rubble. A tidal wave followed, causing more devastation, also to the town of Reggio, across the straits.

1906 - San Francisco - 7.7 magnitude The quake was devastating enough, reaching magnitude 9.0 in parts of the city built on filled wetland, but the fires were brutal. Compounded by broken waterlines, the quake and fire damaged 20 percent of city buildings. Some evidence suggests the final death toll was 20 times the official estimate (500), but was reported as lower to avoid scaring tourists. One report said San Francisco is hit by a series of violent shocks which last up to a minute. Between 700 and 3,000 people die either from collapsing buildings or in the subsequent fire.

December 1811 - New Madrid, Mo. - Magnitude 8.2; January 1812, magnitude 8.1; and February 1812, magnitude 8.3 In December, January and February, these cataclysmic quakes were felt 1,000 miles off, rattling teacups in Washington, D.C., and stopping clocks in Virginia. Due to low population, damage was minimal.

Nov 1755 - PORTUGAL - 60,000 people were killed when an earthquake struck Lisbon. It resulted in 75 per cent of the city being reduced to rubble.