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The most serious earthquake in
terms of loss of life was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire that killed an
estimated 700 people. Only 4 other earthquakes in United States territory have killed more
than 100 people: 173 people died in Unimake Island, Alaska, in 1946; 131 died in Prince
William Sound, Alaska, in 1964; 120 died in Long Beach, California in 1933; and 116 died
in Mona Passage, Puerto Rico, in 1918. More recent earthquakes continue to exact smaller
but significant tolls: 64 died in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake; 67 died in the 1989
Loma Prieta earthquake; and most recently, 60 died in the 1994 Northridge, California,
earthquake (8-10) (Table 8--2). |