The most powerful earthquake ever recorded hit Chile's coast in May 1960. The quake, 9.5 on the Richter scale, lasted almost 10 minutes, resulting in massive infrastructure damage. Around 5,700 people were killed in Chile while the resulting tsunami left 130 people dead in Japan and another 61 in Hawaii. This picture shows the remains of Corral harbor in Chile's Valdivia province.

The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, remains the strongest earthquake to hit the US to date. It occured on Good Friday, March 27, across south-central Alaska. The quake and the following tsunamis caused about 139 deaths. The picture above is from a small fishing village on Kodiak Island and it shows debris from houses and boats.

A team member from Japan's Rescue Dog Association and his dog search for victims. Northeastern Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake, measuring 9.1 on the moment magnitude scale, followed by a massive tsunami. The natural disasters claimed almost 18,500 lives, and crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant, in what is considered the world's worst nuclear power disaster since Chernobyl.

The undersea megathrust earthquake, magnitude 9.1, triggered a series of devastating tsunamis, killing some 280,000 people in 14 different countries and inundating coastal communities with waves up to a 100 feet. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

A megathrust earthquake occurred off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia on November 4, 1952. The 9.0 magnitude quake caused a tsunami leading to widespread destruction and loss of life around the Kamchatka peninsula and the Kuril Islands. More than 2,300 people were killed.

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of central Chile in February 2010. It triggered a tsunami which devastated several coastal towns in south-central Chile and damaged the port at Talcahuano. The quake and the following tsunami resulted in the deaths of around 450 people, while damage to the local fisheries' business was estimated at 66.7 million US dollars.

An abandoned railway coach in Tangshan, China after an earthquake devastated the industrial town on July 28, 1976. The quake, measured at 7.4, struck near the industrial city in northeastern Hebei province. The official death toll is given as 242,000 but is believed to be significantly higher. Some estimates put the deathtoll at around 500,000.

The earthquake, measured at 8.3, occurred in the Haiyuan county of the northern province of Ningxia and caused aftershocks for almost three years. As a result, up to 235,000 people died immediately. Many more, who were living in camps due to the continuing aftershocks, perished later due to severe winter conditions.

A man walks amid the rubble of a destroyed building in Port-au-Prince following the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12, 2010. With a magnitude of 7.0, the quake destroyed thousands of buildings and left at least 200,000 people dead.

Seven tectonic plates make up our earth's surface. Where they meet, chances for an earthquake are the highest. In Nepal, the tectonic collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate caused a dramatic quake on April 25, 2015. It's one of the seven places on earth most prone to earthquakes.

In the valley of Kathmandu, seven cultural World Heritage sites draw Nepalese and international visitors alike. Here, people are celebrating the Gaijatra Festival at the historic square in Bhaktapur in August 2014.

Volunteer workers try to rescue people from beneath the ruins of collapsed temples - they have nothing but their bare hands to dig with. The 2015 Nepalese earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people.

Japan is known as an earthquake specialist, building its skyscrapers on moving foundations that can absorb the earth's shocks during a quake. It's also known for its nuclear power plants. In 2010, the Takahama power plant (pictured above, on the other side of the island from Fukushima) was one of 55, producing a third of the country's energy needs.

Japan is more than 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles) from Nepal. But in March 2011, it suffered a similarly disastrous earthquake, causing one of the worst tsunamis Japan has ever seen. More than 18,000 people were declared dead, and meltdowns of nuclear reactors in Fukushima leaked radioactive material into the surrounding area - more than was released in the Chernobyl catastrophe.

The Andaman Islands, which are part of India, are close to the intersection of the Indian and Eurasian continental plates. Due to the high tectonic tensions, earthquakes are common here.

The worst of these earthquakes in recent history hit on December 26, 2004. It was the third-strongest quake ever measured. Tsunamis following the quake killed 230,000 people along the coast.

The Chinese province of Yunnan is known for its breathtaking landscape, its rice terraces - and its earthquake risk. As Yunnan is located on the border between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, tectonic plate tensions can cause severe earthquakes.

In August 2014, more than 400 people were killed and about 100,000 left homeless by a 6.5-magnitude quake. Strong earthquakes are common in China. In 2008, 70,000 people died after a quake hit in the province of Sichuan.

Although Europe is not really known for earthquakes, they are more common than one might think. In Italy, the African plate comes up against the European continent, and the whole country is situated up against the plate boundary.

In 2009, a quake killed 300 people and left more than 10,000 homeless in the Italian town of L'Aquila. When seven scientists were convicted of manslaughter for failing to advise of earthquake threats, this raised international critique: Despite the most modern scientific methods, earthquakes cannot be predicted.

The Golden Gate Bridge is San Francisco's most prominent landmark. But it is under threat: Scientists say that soon, the worst earthquake in more than 100 years could hit the city, threatening its inhabitants. Culprit here is the San Andreas fault, where the North American plate meets the Pacific plate, just off the Californian coast.

In 1906, San Francisco was destroyed by an earthquake and resulting urban fires. To date, the San Francisco quake is said to be one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history - 3,000 to 6,000 people were killed.

Today, nothing in idyllic south-Chilean Valdivia reminds visitors of the earthquake danger. That doesn't make it less real: Just off the Chilean coast, the South American plate hits the Nazca plate. When tensions rise, the earth shakes. As a consequence, tsunamis form.

At a magnitude of 9.5, it was the strongest earthquake ever measured: In 1960, the quake destroyed large parts of southern Chile's infrastructure. At least 1,700 people died, while millions were made homeless. The next "big bang" is likely to take place in Chile's northern region. The earth there, scientists say, has been suspiciously quiet for years.