As earthquake wreaks havoc across Turkey & Syria, a timeline of major deadly earthquakes in the past two decades

A powerful 78 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday toppling hundreds of buildings and killing at least 641 people Hundreds were still believed to be trapped under rubble and the toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the areaOn both sides of the border residents jolted out of sleep by the predawn quake rushed outside on a cold rainy and snowy winter night as buildings were flattened and strong aftershocks continuedAlso read India stands in solidarity with Turkish people PM Modi on earthquake in TurkeyThe quake felt as far away as Cairo struck a region that has been shaped by more than a decade of civil war in Syria Millions of Syrian refugees live in Turkey The swath of Syria affected by the quake is divided between governmentheld territory and the countrys last oppositionheld enclave which is surrounded by Russianbacked government forces The quake was centered about 90 kilometers 60 miles from the Syrian border outside the city of Gaziantep a major Turkish provincial capitalAt least 20 aftershocks followed some hours later during daylight the strongest measuring 66 Turkish authorities saidIn Damascus buildings shook and many people went down to the streets in fear The quake jolted residents in Lebanon from beds shaking buildings for about 40 seconds Many residents of Beirut left their homes and took to the streets or drove in their cars away from buildings terrorized by memories of the 2020 port explosion that wrecked a large swath of the cityHere is a list of some of the worlds most deadly earthquakes in the past two decadesAugust 14 2021 HAITI A 72 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti killing more than 2200 people and destroying or damaging about 13000 homesSeptember 28 2018 INDONESIA A 75 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi resulting in a 15 metre tsunami and killing more than 4300 peopleNovember 12 2017 IRAN A magnitude 73 earthquake shook the eastern Kermanshah region killing more than 400 people At least six people died in neighbouring IraqSeptember 19 2017 MEXICO A 71 magnitude quake hit central Mexico killing at least 369 people and causing more devastation in the capital than any temblor since an earthquake in 1985 that killed thousandsAugust 24 2016 ITALY A 62 magnitude quake struck a cluster of mountain communities east of Rome in central Italy killing about 300 peopleApril 16 2016 ECUADOR A magnitude 78 earthquake hammered Ecuador killing more than 650 people on the countryrsquos Pacific coastOctober 26 2015 AFGHANISTAN A magnitude 78 earthquake rocked the Afghan northeast killing nearly 400 people in the country as well as in northern PakistanApril 25 2015 NEPAL A magnitude 78 earthquake ravaged impoverished Nepal killing nearly 9000 people and disrupting the lives of more than eight millionAugust 3 2014 CHINA A magnitude 63 earthquake devastated southwestern China killing at least 600 people in a remote area of Yunnan provinceSeptember 24 2013 PAKISTAN Twin earthquakes measuring 77 and 68 magnitude rattled southwestern Balochistan province killing at least 825 peopleAugust 11 2012 IRAN Two strong quakes measuring 64 magnitude and 63 respectively killed at least 300 people near the city of Tabriz in northwestern IranOctober 23 2011 TURKEY A powerful magnitude 72 earthquake shook southeast Turkey killing more than 600 peopleMarch 11 2011 JAPAN A 90 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Japanrsquos northeast killing about 15690 people and injuring 5700 The earthquake also triggered the worldrsquos biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986February 22 2011 NEW ZEALAND A 63 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch killing at least 180 peopleFebruary 27 2010 CHILE An 88 magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami in Chile killed more than 500 people wrecking hundreds of thousands of homes and mangling highways and bridgesJanuary 13 2010 HAITI A 70 magnitude earthquake devastated Haitis capital PortauPrince and killed about 316000 people The United Nations estimated 80000 buildings in PortauPrince and surrounding areas were destroyedMay 12 2008 CHINA A 78 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan province killing about 87600 peopleDecember 26 2004 ASIA A 915 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that barrelled into Indonesia Thailand India Sri Lanka and many other countries in the region devastating villages and tourist islands and leaving almost 230000 dead or missingOctober 8 2005 PAKISTAN A 76 magnitude quake northeast of Islamabad killed at least 73000 people The quake also rocked Indian Kashmir killing 1244 thereDecember 26 2003 IRAN a 66 magnitude earthquake hit the southeastern Kerman province and flattened the city of Bam killing 31000 people