What is the strongest recorded earthquake?
1960 Valdivia earthquake
The 1960 Valdivia earthquake (Spanish: Terremoto de Valdivia) or Great Chilean earthquake (Gran terremoto de Chile) of 22 May is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in the afternoon (19:11 GMT, 15:11 local time), and lasted approximately 10 minutes. The resulting tsunami affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia and the Aleutian Islands.
Ruth A. M. Schmidt
The Great Alaska Earthquake was the most powerful earthquake recorded in North America, and the second most powerful to be recorded in history. Hitting Alaska about 5:30 PM on March 27, 1964, the earthquake registered 9.2. The damage was immense. The tsunami that followed devastated coastal communities from Alaska to northern California. Landslides demolished entire neighborhoods, railroads and highways were destroyed, and major utilities such as gas mains, electrical grids, and phone systems were obliterated. The USGS estimates that 143 people were killed, and thousands were more displaced. Property damages amounted to $2.3B in 2013 dollars.