More than 70,000 people were killed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, China [AFP]

The following is a chronology of major earthquakes in recent years:

September 30, 1993 - INDIA

A series of quakes killed almost 10,000 people in western and southern India. The first quake was of magnitude 6.4.

January 17, 1995 - JAPAN

A magnitude 7.2 quake, the country's worst in half a century, rocks Kobe, killing 6,430 people.

February 4, 1998 - AFGHANISTAN

At least 4,500 people are killed in Takhar province in a quake of magnitude 6.1.

May 30, 1998 - AFGHANISTAN

A magnitude 6.9 quake kills up to 4,000 people in northern Takhar province.

August 17, 1999 - TURKEY

More than 17,800 people killed by a magnitude 7.4 quake.

Jan 26, 2001 - INDIA

An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 strikes the western state of Gujarat killing at least 19,700 people and causing damage in neighbouring Pakistan. The quake affected 15.9 million people in 7,904 villages.

May 21, 2003 - ALGERIA

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes Algiers and nearby towns to the east, killing 2,251 and injuring 10,243.

December 26, 2003 - IRAN

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes the historic city of Bam, 1,000km southeast of Tehran. More than 30,000 were killed in the quake.

December 26, 2004 - ASIA

The number of dead and missing in an Indonesian earthquake and tsunami is almost 230,000. The waves crashed into distant Sri Lanka and India, drowning thousands and swamping tourist isles in Thailand and the Maldives. The quake measured 9.15 in magnitude.

October 8, 2005 - PAKISTAN

At least 73,000 people killed by a 7.6 magnitude quake that struck about 95km (60 miles) northeast of Islamabad. The quake also rocked Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 1,244 there.

May 12, 2008 - CHINA

More than 70,000 people were killed in Sichuan province after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the region.

October 29, 2008 - PAKISTAN

A 6.8 magnitude quake struck 60km northeast of Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province, killing at least 160 people.

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