Rare back-to-back deadly earthquakes hit Venezuela on Wednesday, killing and injuring hundreds. Here are some of the deadliest earthquakes in South and Central America in the past century.
September 2017 — Mexico: An 8.1 earthquake and a 7.1 earthquake hit Mexico within about a week, devastating southern and central Mexico, including Mexico City, and killing nearly 500 people.
April 16, 2016 — Ecuador: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck coastal provinces, flattening towns and killing more than 650 people.
Feb. 27, 2010 — Chile: A magnitude 8.8 earthquake shook central Chile, rattling the capital for about a minute and a half and triggering a tsunami. 523 people were killed.
Aug. 15, 2007 — Peru: A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck near the central coast, killing more than 500 people.
January and February 2001 — El Salvador: A 7.7 earthquake off El Salvador’s coast on Jan. 13, 2001, and a 6.6 earthquake a month later — and the ensuing landslides — killed 1,200 people or more.
Jan. 25, 1999 — Western Colombia: A magnitude 6.0 earthquake devastated the city of Armenia, killing about 1,170 people.
April 22, 1991 — Costa Rica: A magnitude 7.4 earthquake killed more than 80 people in Costa Rica and Panama. About 30,000 people were cut off from food, water and medical supplies for days.
Sept. 19, 1985 — Central Mexico: A magnitude 8.1 earthquake killed about 12,000 people, though the true toll remains unknown.
Feb. 4, 1976 — Western Guatemala: A magnitude 7.5 earthquake killed more than 22,700 people.
Dec. 23, 1972 — Nicaragua: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 6,000 people, with some estimates as high as 9,000.
May 31, 1970 — Northern Peru: A magnitude 7.9 earthquake killed more than 66,000 people.
May 22, 1960 — Chile: A magnitude 9.5 earthquake, known as the Valdivia or Great Chilean earthquake, was the largest earthquake ever recorded. It killed more than 1,655 people, many in a tsunami, and left 2 million homeless.
Aug. 5, 1949 — Ecuador: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake killed about 5,050 people.
Jan. 24, 1939 — Chile: A magnitude 8.3 earthquake killed about 28,000 people in Chillan, with some estimates closer to 30,000.
Jan. 31, 1906 — Ecuador: A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck near Esmeraldas in 1906. Known as the Ecuador-Colombia earthquake, it generated a powerful tsunami that killed about 1,500 people and reached as far north as San Francisco.
