The last such subduction zone faults in a comparable underwater subduction zone include: the Good Friday Alaska quake in 1964 (mag 9.2), the Mexico City earthquake in 1985 (mag 8.1, 9500 dead, 100,000 homeless), the Chilean earthquake in 1960 (mag 9.5, 2500 dead, 2 million homeless) the Chilean earthquake in 2010 (mag 8.8), the Sumatra-Indonesian quake 24 December 2004 (230,000 dead and missing), the New Zealand quake 22 Feb 2011, and the recent Japanese earthquake in 11 March 2011 (mag 8, millions displaced, 10's of billions in damage). Large Pacific Rim earthquakes are troubling: in the southeast corner on 27 February 2010, the southwest corner 22 February 2011, the northwest corner on 11 March 2011.
Curious how all of these struck between late December and early April
Around springtime is a higher risk of earthquakes due to water pressure on rocks, higher water table, slight movement in soil and rocks due to water displacing things. So I read somewhere.