February 6, 1998

Afghanistan: Around 4,000 people were killed and nearly 30 villages in Takhar province were destroyed in an earthquake which measured 6.1 on the Richter scale.

May 10, 1997

Iran: 1,560 people were killed and 2,810 injured when an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale rocked rural areas of eastern Iran.

Feb 28, 1997

Iran: About 1,000 people killed and 2,000 injured in north-western Iran. The quake, measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, hit the city of Ardabil and the town of Meshkinshahr.

May 28, 1995

Russia: The country's worst ever earthquake killed 1,989 people in the Far East oil-producing town of Neftegorsk, on the north of remote Sakhalin Island. The quake measured 7.5 on the Richter scale.

Jan 17, 1995

Japan: The Kobe earthquake swept through central Japan, killing 6,430 people. Measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, this was the biggest quake to hit the country in half a century.

June 6, 1994

Colombia: Some 1,000 people were killed in an earthquake and mudslide disaster in the Paez River valley in south-western Colombia.

Sep 30, 1993

India: Up to 22,000 dead after a series of powerful earthquakes rocked western and southern India.

Dec 12, 1992

Indonesia: A string of islands in the province of East Nusa Tenggara was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale. At least 2,200 people were killed.

Oct 20 1991

India: 1,600 people were killed and at least 2,000 injured by a quake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, close to Uttarkashi, 300km (190 miles) north-east of Delhi.

Feb 1 1991

Afghanistan: About 1,000 people were killed in Afghanistan and 200 in Pakistan after an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale shook large areas of both countries.