Third, the biggest earthquake in recorded history was the 1960 Chilean quake. It was a magnitude 9.5. A magnitude 10 is ONLY 5.6 times more powerful. Only. If it were a subduction zone quake similar to the 1960 event the rupture would have had to be about 5.6 times as long as the 1960 quake, ie 500 miles * 5. read more
Interesting question. I think — but cannot prove — that the answer is yes. First of all is your use of the word “ever”. The earth is 4.56 billion years old. A lot can happen in that amount of time. read more
In other words, it would have to be a quake that hits Russia and Japan at the same time, or a quake that hits Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile all at the same time, etc. Also, a Moment Magnitude 10 earthquake won't necessarily feel much different in terms of how far buildings move from, say, an 8 or 9. read more
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake on Richter scale is equivalent to release of energy by 25,000 nuclear bombs. So a 10.0 magnitude earthquake will be analogous to dropping over 4,00,000 nuclear bombs at a time. This is enough to destroy anything and everything on earth if it is a point source on the surface. read more