Comparing earthquakes really isn’t an exact science as location and the likelihood of tsunami matters a ton. Some of the strongest earthquakes in human history have happened in Alaska but haven’t killed many people as there aren’t many people to kill. However, just comparing how development can make a difference is useful. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan killed just under 20,000 people. The similarly sized 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami killed over 10 times as many people when it hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.