PARIS, Dec 26: Following a list of the worst earthquakes around the world between 1988 and 2003.

May 21, 2003: Algeria: Nearly 2,300 dead, 10,000 injured in 6.8 scale tremor near the capital Algiers.

March 25, 2002: Northern Afghanistan: Up to 4,800 feared dead (magnitude 6.0).

Jan 26, 2001: India: Over 20,000 dead and 160,000 injured (magnitude 7.9) in Gujarat.

Jan 13, 2001: El Salvador: 827 dead (magnitude 7.9).

Nov 12, 1999: Northwestern Turkey: Almost 1,000 dead, 5,000 injured (magnitude 7.2).

Sept 21, 1999: Taiwan: More than 400 dead, 3,000 trapped and injured (magnitude 7.3).

Aug 17, 1999: Northwestern Turkey: 16,000 dead and 25,000 injured (magnitude 7.4).

Jan 25, 1999: Central-western Colombia: More than 1,100 people dead (magnitude 6.0).

July 17, 1998: Papua New Guinea: An underground earthquake out to sea causes a huge tsunami, which washes over villages leaving 2,100 dead.

May 30, 1998: Northeastern Afghanistan: Almost 5,000 dead (magnitude 7.1).

Feb 4, 1998: Northeastern Afghanistan: Between 2,300 and 4,000 dead (magnitude 6.4).

May 10, 1997: Eastern Iran: 1,600 dead and 4,000 injured (magnitude 7.1).

Feb 28, 1997: Ardebil region, northwestern Iran: 965 dead and 2,600 injured (magnitude 5.5).

May 27, 1995: Sakhalin island, in the Russian far east: 1,841 dead in the town of Neftgorsk (magnitude 7.5).

Jan 17, 1995: Kobe-Osaka region of central Japan: 6,400 dead (magnitude 7.2).

Sept 30, 1993: In Maharashtra state, western India: 7,600 dead (magnitude 6.4).

June 21, 1990: Northwestern Iran: More than 40,000 killed in Ghilan and Zandjan provinces (magnitude 7.7).

Feb 1, 1991: In Afghanistan and Pakistan: At least 1,500 dead (magnitude 6.8).

Dec 7, 1988: Armenia: 25,000 dead. (magnitude 7.0). —AFP