Free Resources for Learning About Historic Earthquakes
Published:
October 28, 2020
Contributor:
Jeannette Tuionetoa
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.
If you have ever weathered through an earthquake, you know that it is an experience you’ll never forget. These free resources for learning about historic earthquakes will be a great addition to your earthquake lessons or unit.
I am from the East Coast of the United States of America, New York, to be specific. We just don’t have earthquakes. I moved to Florida, and still no earthquakes.
Little did I know that the Lord would bring my family to an earthquake-prone country. When we first moved we did what any new citizens of an earthquake-prone country would do… we packed an earthquake/tsunami bag to get ready to flee to higher land.
We have grown to know now that earthquakes are commonplace and a siren will sound should there be a tsunami coming.
However, our first earthquake experience was pretty hilarious. It was about 5 a.m. in the morning. My husband and I dashed out of the bed, he grabbed the emergency bag at the side of our bed. We grabbed the kids out of the bed and sprinted to the car and waited for the siren.
We are looking around, neighbors still sleeping, no sirens. It turns out we SERIOUSLY overestimated the earthquake. It’s definitely a funny memory now, when we think back.
However, it was a perfect drill for us and we are grateful for taking the precaution overboard – just in case we need it for the real thing.
Our Christ Church, New Zealand Friends.
After a few years in Tonga, we met a beautiful family from New Zealand, who came as missionaries for a year and a half to the island where I live.
They eventually retold the stories of their experience with the devastating earthquakes in Christ Church, New Zealand. The memories were still fresh in their minds. Their concerns about the casualties were evident in their expressions.
Her husband is a green home contractor/master builder. He builds amazing and breathtaking eco-friendly homes. After the earthquakes, his company quickly began to help families affected by the earthquakes in September 2010, only to face another devastating earthquake just a few months later in February 2011.
Can you imagine the devastation? They knew people who just were gone, unaccounted for after the first earthquake.
They began to rebuild and shortly after another earthquake brought more deaths, damage, and casualties. Lord, our hearts beak for such horrific natural disasters and those affected. We also are able to understand the magnitude of God’s perfect sovereignty.
It either turns people away from God or throws them headfirst to follow Him.
If you are studying earthquakes in your homeschool, be sure to pray for people around the world who are probably still trying to recover and those who need to turn to the Lord for salvation.
Explore these reading materials and free resources for learning about historic earthquakes:
FREE Historic Earthquakes Notebooking Research Journal
464 BC Sparta, Greece
City of Sparta destroyed by the earthquake of 464 B.C (FREE Printable) | Research Gate
226 BC Rhodes, Greece
226 BC Rhodes earthquake audio article | Wikipedia tts
62 Pompeii, Italy
Article 62 A.D. Pompeii Earthquake | Politics of Disaster
The First Destruction of Pompeii 62 A.D. and Video | Napoli Unplugged
December 22, 856 Damghan, Iran / March 23, 893 India and Iran
Earthquake History of Iran FREE Printable | Research Gate
Timeline: Major earthquakes in Iran | Aljazeera
Earthquake History of Iran | Science Direct
October 11, 1138 Egypt and Syria
1138 Aleppo Earthquake | History Collection
Aleppo Earthquake – Syria – 1138 AD | Devastating Disasters
1138 Aleppo earthquake facts for kids | Kids.Kiddle
January 23, 1556 Central China
Deadliest earthquake in history rocks China | History.com
The 1556 Shaanxi Earthquake and Map | History Collection
1703 Honshu, Japan
Japan’s Biggest Earthquakes | Live Science
1737 Kolkata (Calcutta), India
Earthquake Damage in Calcutta (Kolkata) (FREE Printables) | Sites.Google
The 1737 Calcutta Earthquake and Cyclone evaluated FREE Download | Research Gate
1755 Lisbon, Portugal
What Caused the Great Lisbon Earthquake? | Research Gate
1811 – 1812 New Madrid, Missouri
New Madrid Earthquake | TNHistoryforKids
December 8, 1812 Alta California
San Andreas | JohnMartin.com
December 21, 1812 Santa Barbara Channel, California
1855 earthquake rattled nerves and mission bells article | Daily Bulletin
January 23, 1855 Wairarapa, New Zealand (8.2 magnitude)
The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake | Teara.govt.nz
The Day The Earth Shifted | NZGeo
Massive earthquake hits southern North Island | New Zealand History
April 18, 1906 San Francisco, California
The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake | USGS
Word Search for I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 – FREE | Teaching Literacy
December 16, 1920 Central China
Terrible Earthquake in China | ARCGIS
September 1, 1923 Kanto, Japan
The Great Japan Earthquake of 1923 | SmithsonianMag
1950 India and Tibet
The Great Assam Earthquake of 1950 | Sites.Google
1952 Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
How Long Did The Kamchatka Earthquake Last | Denvers Refrigeration
1960 Southern Chile (9.5 magnitude)
Just How Big Was the Biggest Earthquake? | Scientific American
Predecessors of the giant 1960 Chile earthquake FREE Download | Research Gate
May 22, 1960 CE: Valdivia Earthquake Strikes Chile | National Geographic
1964 Southern Alaska
Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami of March 27, 1964 | USGS
1964 Alaska Earthquake | History.com
1965 Aleutian Islands
Aftershocks of the 4 February 1965 Rat Island Earthquake FREE PDF | ScienceMag.org
1965 M8.7 Rat Islands Earthquake | UAF
December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean (Sumatra)
The Sumatra Earthquake of December 26, 2004 | ThoughtCo.
2005 Pakistan
Pakistan: Impact of the 8 October 2005 earthquake | RefWorld
2005 Indian Ocean (Sumatra)
Mapping downgoing plate topography: The 2005 Sumatra earthquake | Science Daily
January 12, 2010 Haiti
2010 Haiti earthquake: Facts, FAQs, and how to help | World Vision
Before and After Photos | The Guardian
Haiti: Ten years after the earthquake | Prevention Web
2010 Pacific Ocean, Central Chile
1.5 Million Displaced After Chile Quake | New York Times
Earthquake and Tsunami in Chile: massive evacuation and building codes help to reduce loss of life | UNESCO
September 2010 Christchurch, New Zealand / February 2011, Canterbury, New Zealand
Christchurch shifts from concrete to steel in post-earthquake rebuild | Prevention Web
Lessons from the Christchurch quake | Immigration. Govt. NZ
Christchurch Earthquake Case Study | Internet Geography
FREE Resources and Lesson Plans – Christchurch Earthquakes | LEARNZ
Why Was New Zealand’s Latest Earthquake So Deadly? | Scientific American
March 11, 2011. Pacific Ocean (Japan)
Mar 11, 2011 CE: Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami | National Geographic
The below resources will be a great starting point for you to teach all about earthquakes in a natural disaster unit.
All About Earthquakes FREE Research Journal
FREE Earthquake Terminology Copywork Notebook
Understanding Earthquakes and Volcanoes…with snack foods! (Part 1) | Canadian Red Cross
What Is an Earthquake? | Educational Videos for Kids
Lego City Earthquake | Teach Beside Me
Ways to Create An Earthquake (STEM)! | Teachers are Terrific
Montessori-Inspired Earthquake Activities With FREE Printables | Every Star is Different
Earthquake Experiments | The Owl Teacher
Natural Disasters Lesson: Earthquakes! | The Usual Mayhem
Earthquake FREE Printables | ThoughtCo.
Earthquake Facts & FREE Worksheets | kidskonnect
