shaanxi earthquake

To put it in perspective, however, China at the time was the world’s wealthiest country, and the earthquake destroyed an entire region of its core, killing 60% of that region’s population. Much of the population lived in dwellings called yaodongs in these cliffs. Huts, official houses, temples and city walls collapsed all of a sudden. The rupture occurred during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The earthquake collapsed many caves and caused landslides, which destroyed many more. [1] While it was the deadliest earthquake and the third-deadliest natural disaster in history, there have been earthquakes with considerably higher magnitudes. When did the Shaanxi earthquake happen: January 23 1556, Where did the Shaanxi earthquake happen: Shaanxi Province, China, What was Shaanxi’s earthquake death toll: At least 830,000. . [16], Magnitude 8 Earthquake (23 January 1556) in Shaanxi, China; regarded as deadliest earthquake in recorded history, Map of China showing modern-day Shaanxi province (red) and the other provinces affected by the earthquake (orange). People lived in what were called yaodongs, artificial caves in cliffs that collapsed. [1] The accompanying property damage would have been incalculable—an entire region of inner China had been destroyed and an estimated 60% of the region's population died. Some content of the original page may have been edited to make it more suitable for younger readers, unless otherwise noted. [4] It had a magnitude of around 8.0. In some places, the ground suddenly rose up and formed new hills, or it sank abruptly and became new valleys. All 26 of the earthquakes recorded in the annals had epicentres in this basin. It killed around 830,000 people, making it the worst earthquake in human history by number of deaths.[1]. The soft loess clay formed over thousands of years due to wind blowing silt into the area from the Gobi Desert. This was the major contributing factor to the very high death toll. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. International Association of Engineering Geology International Congress. In the aftermath, the upheaval inspired searches for the causes of earthquakes in general, and the best ways to reduce the damage they cause. The Shaanxi earthquake's epicenter was in the Wei River Valley in Shaanxi Province, near the cities of Huaxian, Weinan and Huayin. You should know: Shaanxi forms part of the cradle of Chinese civilization. Just crouch down and wait. Content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. The cost of the damages caused by the Shaanxi earthquake is probably impossible to measure in modern terms. On January 23, 1556, an earthquake in Shaanxi, China, kills an estimated 830,000 people. Shaanxi Earthquake The Shaanxi earthquake or Hua County Earthquake is the deadliest earthquake on record, killing approximately 830,000 people. 賀明靜編著，(1990年)，《（1556年）華縣地震災害研究》，西安：陜西人民出版社，頁92。, third-deadliest natural disaster in history, "Late Quaternary Activity of the Huashan Piedmont Fault and Associated Hazards in the Southeastern Weihe Graben, Central China", "MUSEUM OF FOREST OF STONE TABLETS IN XI' AN", China International Search and Rescue Team, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1556_Shaanxi_earthquake&oldid=985961290, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from September 2018, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from September 2018, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text, Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Articles lacking reliable references from September 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 29 October 2020, at 00:05. More than 830,000 people died in the days after Jan. 23, 1556, when central China was struck by the deadliest earthquakeever recorded. The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake or Jiajing earthquake was a catastrophic earthquake and is also the deadliest earthquake on record, killing approximately 830,000 people in China. Buildings were damaged slightly in the cities of Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai. Loess is the silty soil that windstorms have deposited on the plateau over the ages. The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake or Jiajing earthquake was a catastrophic earthquake and is also the deadliest earthquake on record, killing approximately 830,000 people in China. It lay at the heart of the state of Qin, the emperor who first united the country in the 3rd century BC and who gave his name to the modern country. The local records indicate that, in addition to inspiring searches for the causes of earthquakes, this particular quake led the people in the region affected to search for ways to minimize the damage caused by such disasters. The province of Shaanxi in northwestern China has the unenviable record of being the site of the world’s most deadly recorded earthquake. In Huaxian, every single building and home was demolished, killing more than half the residents of the city, with a death toll estimated in the tens of thousands. Following the earthquake, aftershocks continued several times a month for half a year.[10]. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Shaanxi-province-earthquake-of-1556. According to imperial records, approximately 830,000 people lost their lives.[4]. The History of Us® is a registered trademark, 'China Earthquake: China's History of Massive Quakes'; deathby1000papercuts.com, May 12 2008, Museum of Earthquakes (Science Museums of China), View other events that happened on January 23. In other areas, a stream burst out in an instant, or the ground broke and new gullies appeared. Known as The Shaanxi Earthquake of 1556, the event is estimated to have caused the deaths of 830,000 people. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, China. Loess cave dwellings in Shaanxi. The earthquake (estimated at magnitude 8) struck Shaanxi and neighbouring Shanxi province to the east early on Jan. 23, 1556, killing or injuring an estimated 830,000 people. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Your email address will not be published. Scholars believe that is why so many people had died. It happened in the winter of 1555-1556 during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and is therefore often referred to as the Jiajing earthquake. Shaanxi province earthquake of 1556, (Jan. 23, 1556), massive earthquake in Shaanxi province in northern China, believed to be the deadliest earthquake ever recorded. The situation in Weinan and Huayin was similar. One conclusion he drew was that "at the very beginning of an earthquake, people indoors should not go out immediately. Aftershocks continued for six months. To put it in perspective, however, China at the time was the world’s wealthiest country, and the earthquake destroyed an entire region of its core, killing 60% of that region’s population. Content of this web page is sourced from wikipedia ( http://simple.wikipedia.org). One of his conclusions was that: “at the very beginning of an earthquake, people indoors should not go out immediately. He also left future generations in his debt through his observations on survival techniques. The epicentre was in the Wei River valley near Mount Hua and aftershocks were felt for a whole six months. More than 97 counties in the provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Gansu, Hebei, Shandong, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu and Anhui were affected. The earthquake occured in the Shaanxi region of China in 1556. – China: A Geographical Perspective (2018). Such houses have the advantage of being cool in the summer and warm in the winter, but they had the disadvantage of being particularly vulnerable to seismic activity. [14], Millions of people at the time lived in artificial loess caves on high cliffs in the area of the Loess Plateau. In certain areas, 20-metre-deep (66 ft) crevices opened in the earth. The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake was a very bad earthquake that occurred on the morning of 23 January 1556 in Shaanxi, during the Ming Dynasty.It killed around 830,000 people, making it the worst earthquake in human history by number of deaths. The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake, or Huaxian earthquake (simplified Chinese: 华县大地震; traditional Chinese: 華縣大地震; pinyin: Huáxiàn Dàdìzhèn), or Jiajing earthquake (Chinese: 嘉靖大地震; pinyin: Jiājìng Dàdìzhèn), is the deadliest earthquake in recorded history. Destruction and death were everywhere, affecting places as far as 500 kilometres (310 mi) from the epicenter. Loess, the material that made these caves, is known to be very weak and can cause landslides. Humans have been recording earthquakes for nearly 4,000 years. "[13] The shaking reduced the height of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an by three levels. ThingLink. [15][better source needed], The Loess Plateau and its dusty soil cover almost all of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces and parts of others. [1990] (1990). Your email address will not be published. The rupture occurred during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming dynasty. Even if the nest has collapsed, some eggs may remain intact. This quotation is from a translation of a Chinese study of historical earthquake. Destruction and death were everywhere, affecting places as far as 500 kilometres (310 mi) from the epicenter. The Shaanxi earthquake was the deadliest earthquake known to man, killing up to 60 percent of the population in some affected areas. [5] An 840-kilometre-wide (520 mi) area was destroyed,[6] and in some counties as much as 60% of the population was killed. The earthquake occured in the Shaanxi region of China in 1556. The earthquake also triggered landslides, which contributed to the massive death toll. The horrific death toll is largely due to the collapse of several c… Therefore, in the Chinese historical record, this earthquake is often referred to as the Jiajing Great earthquake. Many of the population lived in the Yaodongs, or artificial caves which were destroyed by landslides caused by the massive 8.0 quake. Of the 114 Kaicheng Stone Classics, 40 were broken in the earthquake. [15][better source needed], The cost of damage done by the earthquake is almost impossible to measure in modern terms. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Fatalities were particularly high because most of the population in Shaanxi and surrounding regions, taking advantage of the soft loess soil, had built their homes out of earth shelters known as yaodongs – a form of artificial cave carved out of hillsides. What factors contributed to such catastrophic loss of life? Originally 147 feet (45 metres) high, the structure currently stands 141 feet (43 metres) high after being damaged in the Shaanxi province earthquake of 1556. The earthquake caused ground fissures, uplift, subsidence, sandblows, liquefaction and landslides. The death toll was unfathomable, an estimated 830,000 people died from what scientists estimate was an 8.0 quake. Shaanxi, China has had: (M1.5 or greater) 0 earthquakes in the past 24 hours 0 earthquakes in the past 7 days; 0 earthquakes in the past 30 days; 1 earthquake in the past 365 days Loess is the name of the silty soil deposited by windstorms from the Gobi Desert.

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