23 janeiro 2015

January 23rd 1556: Shaanxi earthquakeOn this day in 1556 the...



Jiajing Emperor (1507 - 1567)





Map of the area



January 23rd 1556: Shaanxi earthquake



On this day in 1556 the deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hit Shaanxi province, China. The earthquake killed around 830,000 people, though due to the limited sources from the time this is only an estimate. It struck in the morning of January 23rd, but aftershocks continued for half a year after. The earthquake is believed to have measured about 8.0 on the Richter scale, which is not the strongest on record. However as it triggered landslides and struck in a densely populated area where people lived in artificial Loess caves, the death toll was the highest in history from an earthquake. More than 97 counties in the provinces surrounding Shaanxi were affected, with the city of Huaxian - at the epicentre of the quake - being completely destroyed. An 840km wide area was completely destroyed by the disaster, leveling buildings and killing thousands. The disaster occurred during the Ming Dynasty under the rule of the Jiajing Emperor and thus is sometimes referred to in Chinese sources as the Jiajing Great Earthquake. The Shaanxi earthquake was the deadliest earthquake and third deadliest natural disaster in history.


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