1. 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

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On December 26, 2004, the Palau tip of Sumatra was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 9.1 to 9.3 for over 10 minutes. This massive earthquake caused a tsunami to occur in the Indian Ocean which lay waste large parts of Indonesia and badly affected Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Malaysia, Somalia, Bangladesh and Thailand. Over 226,000 people perished in this tsunami.

2. 1908 Messina Tsunami

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This was the second largest and one of the most deadly tsunamis in history. It killed over 123,000 people. On December 28, 1908, an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 hit Messina, a city in Sicily, Italy and caused a tsunami. Over 90% of Messina was destroyed by the tsunami that followed the earthquake.

3. 1755 Lisbon Tsunami

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The 1755 Lisbon tsunami was caused by an earthquake measuring magnitude 9 which caused 6 feet high waves to come crashing into and completely destroying the city of Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal. Around 100,000 are estimated to be dead in this earthquake-tsunami.

4. 1883 Krakatao Eruption

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In 1883, the eruption of the Krakatao volcano in August 1883 led to one of the most deadly tsunamis in the world. The sound was heard all the way up to Australia. The tsunami waves reached the height of 40 meters. More than 160 villages were completely swept away in Java and Sumatra. Over 36,000 people are reported to have died in this disaster.

5. 1707 Hoei Tsunami

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On October 28, 1707, the largest earthquake to hit Japan until recently led to one of the most devastating tsunamis. The estimated magnitude of the earthquake was 8.6 and together with the resulting tsunami, it killed over 30,000 people.

6. 1782 South China Sea Tsunami

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This tsunami was deadly for the sheer distance it covered inland into the Chinese mainland. The result of an earthquake, the tsunami from the South China Sea traveled 120 km inland and killed over 40,000 people in its wake. Hundreds of villages and farms were destroyed.

7. 1868 Arica Tsunami

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The Arica earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 8.5 to 9.0. It caused 2 huge tsunami waves- the first which was 12 m high and the second which was 16 m high to hit the southern coast of Peru and caused mayhem and destruction.

From this list of 7 most deadly tsunamis in history, you can see that it is entirely possible for the recent Japanese tsunami to make it to this list. It never fails to bring to my mind the fact that the power of nature is bigger than anything man can fathom or control.

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