As I was watching the recent devestation in Japan from the earthquake and Tsunami, I heard the reporters say this 8.9 earthquake was the 7th largest in history. I was curious to see when and how large the other one’s were. I did a bit of research and found the following chart:
The Ten Largest Earthquakes Since 1900
Below is a list of the largest earthquakes on record in the world. Magnitude, date, and location are also given.
| Location | Date | Magnitude2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chile | May 22, 1960 | 9.5 |
| 2. | Prince William Sound, Alaska | March 28, 19643 | 9.2 |
| 3. | Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands | March 9, 1957 | 9.1 |
| 4. | Kamchatka | Nov. 4, 1952 | 9.0 |
| 5. | Off western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia | Dec. 26, 2004 | 9.0 |
| 6. | Off the coast of Ecuador | Jan. 31, 1906 | 8.8 |
| 7. | Offshore Maule, Chile | Feb. 27, 2010 | 8.8 |
| 8. | Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands | Feb. 4, 1965 | 8.7 |
| 9. | Northern Sumatra, Indonesia | March 28, 2005 | 8.7 |
| 10. | India-China border | Aug. 15, 1950 | 8.6 |
As you can see, Japan’s recent earthquake is in a highly populated area, where in one town 1/2 of the population is now missing. Please join me in praying for these people as well as finding a way to donate to help them. I will most likely be donating money to help through the LDS Philanthropies website.
Author’s note: I decided to donate through the Red Cross rather than the LDS Philanthropies. I did this mainly so I could focus my funds towards the earthquake in Japan, rather than other areas of the world. You can donate online at the American Red Cross website.
Grace for Grace 
5 comments
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March 12, 2011 at 4:21 pm
Steve
The American Red Cross is simply one of the best in the world.
Their address is: http://www.redcross.org
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March 13, 2011 at 11:49 am
ama49
Hi Steve,
Great suggestion! I actually like the red cross site better as well for this disaster. I went ahead and donated at that site.
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March 13, 2011 at 12:08 pm
NM
Why would people prefer the American Red Cross to the LDS Philanthropies? What differences are there?
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March 13, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Steve
NM — The Church simply doesn’t have the money or the infrastructure to deal with every or even most emergencies.
The American Red Cross has a long history of effective assistance worldwide.
For a disaster, I would do the Red Cross. For a general humanitarian contribution, ie. to improve life in the 3rd World, the LDS Church is a solid choice.
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March 13, 2011 at 9:03 pm
ama49
I agree with Steve on this one. I’m not an expert at all with natural disasters, but when I visited both sites the Red Cross already had places set up to donate for the quake in Japan whereas the LDS site was still featuring donations for the Chile earthquake from last year. I think Red Cross is quicker because that is all they are focused on: disasters. LDS covers more general areas.
Had the LDS site been updated, I probably would have donated there.
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