A look at the world’s deadliest 21st-century quakes
Earthquakes are one of nature's most powerful and terrifying forces.
At least three people were killed and several others injured after a powerful 5.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Bangladesh this morning (21 November), damaging multiple buildings in Dhaka and other districts, according to officials.
Earthquakes are one of nature's most powerful and terrifying forces.
Here is a list of the world's deadliest earthquakes this century:
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31 August 2025: More than 2,200 people died as a magnitude 6 quake struck eastern Afghanistan.
28 March 2025: A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, with estimates of 3,600 to 5,350 fatalities.
7 January 2025: A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck a remote region of China's Tibet, killing at least 126 people.
1 January 2024: A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck western Japan, killing over 500 people.
7 October 2023: Almost 1,500 people were reportedly killed in Afghanistan's Herat and the surrounding districts in one 6.3-magnitude quake and another on 11 October.
8 September 2023: Over 2,900 people died in a magnitude 6.8 tremor and its aftershocks.
6 February 2023: In Turkey and Syria, over 59,000 people died in what started with a powerful 7.8-magnitude quake and followed by a second significant tremor of 7.7 magnitude approximately 11 hours later.
22 June 2022: In Afghanistan, more than 1,100 people died in a magnitude 6.1 earthquake.
14 August 2021: In Haiti, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake killed over 2,200 people.
28 September 2018: A 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia, killing more than 4,300 people.
24 August 2016: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake in central Italy claimed the lives of over 300 people.
25 April 2015: In Nepal, more than 8,800 people were killed by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
3 August 2014: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake near Wenping in southern China's Yunnan province left over 700 people dead.
24 September 2013: A magnitude 7.7 quake hit southwest Pakistan, killing more than 800 people.
11 March 2011: A magnitude 9 quake off the northeast coast of Japan triggered a tsunami, killing over 20,000 people.
27 February 2010: A magnitude 8.8 quake jolted Chile, generating a tsunami and killing 524 people.
12 January 2010: In Haiti, 316,000 people died in a magnitude 7 quake, according to government figures.
30 September 2009: Over 1,100 people died when a magnitude 7.5 quake struck southern Sumatra in Indonesia.
6 April 2009: A magnitude 6.3 quake killed over 300 people in and around L'Aquila, Italy.
12 May 2008: A magnitude 7.9 quake hit eastern Sichuan in China, resulting in over 87,500 deaths.
15 August 2007: A magnitude 8 earthquake near the coast of central Peru claimed more than 500 lives.
26 May 2006: Over 5,700 people were killed when a 6.3-magnitude quake struck the Indonesian island of Java.
8 October 2005: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake left more than 80,000 people dead in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
28 March 2005: A magnitude 8.6 quake in northern Sumatra in Indonesia killed about 1,300 people.
26 December 2004: A magnitude 9.1 quake in Indonesia triggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean, killing some 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
26 December 2003: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck southeastern Iran, resulting in 50,000 deaths.
21 May 2003: Over 2,200 people died in a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Algeria.
25 March 2002: Some 1,000 people were killed in a magnitude 6.1 quake in northern Afghanistan.
26 January 2001: A magnitude 7.7 quake hit Gujarat, India, killing 20,000 people.
