Earthquake frequency and destructive power

Left side of the chart shows the magnitude of the earthquake and right side represents the amount of high explosive
required to produce the energy released by the earthquake. The middle of the chart shows the relative frequencies.
Energy release
Magnitude (equivalent of explosive)
Notable earthquakes Energy equivalents
123 trillion Ib.
10 Chile (1960) (56 trillion kg)
Alaska (1964) 4 trillion Ib.
9 Japan (2011) <1 (1.8 trillion kg)
Great earthquake; near total Krakatoa volcanic eruption
destruction, massive loss of life New Madrid, Mo. (1812)
3 World’s largest nuclear test (USSR) 123 billion Ib.
8 San Francisco (1906) (56 billion kg)
Major earthquake; severe economic Mount St. Helens eruption
impact, large loss of life Loma Prieta, Calif. (1989)
20 4 billion Ib.
7 Kobe, Japan (1995) (1.8 billion kg)
Strong earthquake; damage
Northridge, Calif. (1994)
($ billions), loss of life Hiroshima atomic bomb 123 million Ib.
6 200 (56 million kg)
Moderate earthquake;
property damage Long Island, N.Y. (1884)
4 million Ib.
5 2,000
Light earthquake; Average tornado (1.8 million kg)
some property damage
12,000 12,300 Ib.
4 (56,000 kg)
Minor earthquake;
felt by humans Large lightning bolt
4,000 Ib.
3 100,000 Oklahoma City bombing (1,800 kg)
Moderate lightning bolt
1,000,000 123 Ib.
2 (56 kg)
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Graphic: Pat Carr, Tim Goheen Number of earthquakes per year (worldwide) © 2011 MCT