More than 69,000 people lost their lives to a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan, China.
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The Ambato earthquake destroyed fifty towns in Ecuador and killed over 6,000 people.
A 6.25 magnitude earthquake destroyed central Managua, Nicaragua, killing about 10,000 people.
The most violent earthquake in recorded history hits Chile.
The Kilauea volcano on Big Island in Hawaii began to erupt.
The Armenian-Turkish land border opened for the first time in 35 years.
