document: The earthquake that killed 25,000 people in Armenia pushed last year 's earthquake-related death toll worldwide to the highest level since 1976 , when a Chinese earthquake killed at least 10 times as many , the U.S. Geological Survey reports . The estimated earthquake death toll in 1988 includes an additional 2,000 or more people who died in other earthquakes around the world , the Survey reported Monday . Although the annual average death toll for earthquakes is about 10,000 , in 1987 only 1,100 lives were lost . In addition to the deaths , some 13,000 people were injured and more than a half-million were left homeless in the Armenian earthquake , which had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale . The death toll of 25,000 is the most recent reported by the Soviets . The exact toll in unknown . The main shock was followed within minutes by a second , measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale , which estimates the energy released by an earthquake . An earthquake of 5.0 can cause considerable damage , and the strength rises by 10 times for each whole number on the scale . Many of the deaths in Armenia were blamed on collapsing buildings , as the earthquake rattled concrete structures until they fell to the ground , according to subsequent analyses . Another recent earthquake in the Soviet Union , claiming about 1,000 lives , struck in Soviet central Asia . That one occurred in January , however , and so does not count in the 1988 toll . Last year 's second most deadly earthquake occurred Aug. 20 on the Nepal-India border , killing 1,000 . That earthquake , measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale , destroyed thousands of homes and injured many people . On Nov. 6 an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the scale claimed 730 lives and injured about 4,000 people on the border between Burma and China , the Geological Survey reported . And on the India-Burma border three deaths were reported in an Aug. 6 earthquake that caused landslides . The Survey said it recorded 61 significant earthquakes last year , 15 fewer than the year before . An earthquake is considered significant if it has a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale . Earthquakes of lesser magnitude are included if they cause casualties or considerable damage . Three significant earthquakes were recorded in the United States last year , including the strongest shock of the year . That earthquake , measured at 7.6 , occurred March 6 in the Gulf of Alaska and resulted in only minor damage . The only U.S. earthquake death last year occured when someone suffered a heart attack after an earthquake measuring 4.8 in Whittier , Calif. , in February . The other significant U.S. earthquake occurred Dec. 3 in Pasadena , Calif. . It was measured at 4.6 on the scale and caused some injuries and property damage . An earthquake centered in eastern Canada on Nov. 25 was felt widely across that country and in the northeastern United States as far south as Washington , the Survey reported . It had a magnitude of 5.7 . Earthquakes in the eastern part of North America tend to be felt over larger areas than earthquakes of similar strength in the West . Europe recorded three earthquake deaths last year when one rated at 3.0 killed a group of miners in Czechoslovakia on Sept. 2 . In addition an earthquake rated at 5.8 caused several injuries in Albania on Jan. 9 . Injuries were also reported from two offshore earthquakes , one in the Ionian Sea near Greece Oct. 16 and another near the Azores Islands Nov. 21 . In Africa , eight people working in a gold mine in South Africa died Jan. 5 in an earthquake rated at 5.2 . And Japan , usually very seismically active , recorded only one significant earthquake last year , the Survey reported . That earthquake measured 5.4 and resulted in 10 injuries and minor damage in the Tokyo area .
extractive_keyphrases: armenian earthquake earthquake death toll offshore earthquakes earthquake deaths property damage deadly earthquake chinese earthquake
abstractive_keyphrases: u.s. geological survey