Deadliest earthquakes
The 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck near Port-au-Prince, the country's capital, was the largest to hit the region in more than 200 years. An estimated 222,570 people were killed, 300,000 injured and 1.3 million displaced. A study by the Inter-American Development Bank estimates the total cost of the disaster to be between $8 billion and $14 billion.
PICTURES: Haiti's quake aftermath
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Sichuan, China
About 90,000 people were killed or missing in the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that hammered China's southwestern Sichuan Province. It was the country's worst earthquake for over three decades and was felt as far away as Vietnam and Thailand.
PICTURES: Earthquake rocks China's Sichuan Province
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Pisco, Peru
Some 500 people were killed, thousands were left homeless and more than 80 percent of the homes were destroyed when a 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck Peru's central coast.
PICTURES: Earthquake shakes Peru
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Kashmir, Pakistan
The 7.6-magnitude earthquake in northern Pakistan left at least 86,000 people killed and more than 69,000 injured, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The country is prone to earthquakes because it sits on the collision area between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. In 2008, a 6.4 temblor near the Afghan border claimed nearly 200 lives.
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Sumatra, Indonesia
The 9.1-magnitude earthquake in the Indonesian island of Sumatra is considered to be the fourth largest quake in the world since 1990. The quake and subsequent tsunami had killed 227,898 and left 1.7 million people displaced across the Pacific region.
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Bam, Iran
About 31,000 people were killed in the 6.6-magnitude earthquake in the ancient city of Bam, about 600 miles south-east of Tehran.
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Gujarat, India
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Gujarat, India, killed about 20,023 people, injured 166,836, and destroyed approximately 339,000 buildings. It was felt as far as Western Nepal and Bangladesh.
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Izmit, Turkey
The devastating earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey in 1999 reached 7.6 on the Richter Scale. About 17,118 people were killed.
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Kobe, Japan
More than 6,000 people died and 300,000 were left homeless after the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck this major Japanese port city. Some 45,000 homes were estimated to have been destroyed or heavily damaged, along with the city's major highways, railways and bridges. The total cost of the disaster was estimated at more than $100 billion.
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Latur, India
The 6.2-magnitude earthquake that ripped through the Latur district in India's Maharashtra state killed about 9,748 people and injured 30,000, according to the U.S. Geographical Survey.
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Manjil, Iran
About 40,000 people were killed, more than 60,000 injured and 400,000 were left homeless after the 7.4-magnitude earthquake slammed the Manjil region in northern Iran.
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Mexico City
The devastating 1985 temblor in Mexico City was measured by the US Geological Survey at a magnitude of 8.0. About 9,500 people were killed, 30,000 were injured, and more than 100,000 people were left homeless.
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Guatemala City
A 7.5-magnitude earthquake centered about 100 miles northeast of Guatemala City killed an estimated 23,000 people and left a million others homeless.
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Tangshan, China
The 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck the northeastern city of Tangshan in 1976 is considered to be the deadliest earthquake since 1900. While the official casualty figure, according to U.S. Geographical Survey, is 255,000, the estimated death toll is as high as 655,000.
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Nicaragua
Nicaragua is another Latin America country prone to earthquakes. The 6.2-magnitude temblor in 1972 claimed the lives of some 6,000 people and destroyed most of the Nicaraguan capital of Managua. A slew of aftershocks were reported, with two exceeding magnitude 5, according to the U.S. Geographical Survey.
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Chimbote, Peru
The 7.9-magnitude earthquake that centered 22 miles west of the Peruvian coastal town Chimbite, took about 60,000 lives and left 800,000 homeless.
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Chile
The 9.5-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Chile in 1960 is the biggest quake recorded since 1900. The quake and subsequent tsunami killed at least 1,716 people and left about two million homeless.
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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
The 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkmenistan (then part of the Soviet Union) in 1948 claimed about 110,000 lives.
PICTURES: How Earthquakes Are Measured