1976 Tangshan Earthquake

The most deadly earthquake of the 20th century occurred near the east coast of the Republic of China on July 28, 1976. The epicenter is in the southeast of Beijing about 90 miles, in Tangshan city in Hebei Province, the source is 11 kilometers in the city depth. The first tremor was level 2 and then the level 8 aftershock. The 1964 Alaska earthquake was level 4, but it brought far more damage than Tangshan, where it suffered a great loss of life and wealth. However, it is difficult to accurately analyze earthquakes due to political isolation in China and strict government information management. Most foreigners are not allowed to enter the country, and non-Chinese sources are mainly anecdotes. About twenty years later, the political change in China brought the emergence of new information revealing the following factors that made the Tangshan earthquake very destructive: 1) earthquake geology, 2) earthquake Time and 3) insufficient building standards, 4) damage to infrastructure, obstruction of rescue activities, 5) significant loss of human life, 6) probably the most important is the abandonment of artificial obligations

Because Tangshan is located in a geographical place, it is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and earthquakes. Only three weeks after the Tangshan earthquake, Sichuan Province of China, Mindanao Island of the Philippines, Honshu Island of Japan were shocked by the earthquakes (Rollins and Bryant). The Indian and Pacific sectors are pressing the Asian continent. When the Indian plate moved northeast it promoted the Asian continent. The Pacific plate is squeezing the Asian continent from the east (Figures 1 and 2). sudden

The Tangshan earthquake of 1976 is also called Tangshan earthquake and it is a natural disaster occurred in the Tangshan area of ​​Hebei Province in China at 7.6 am on July 28, 1976. Within a few minutes, there is no longer an industrial city, Tangshan, with about 1 million residents. 85% of the buildings in the city collapsed or became unusable, all services failed and most road bridges and railway bridges collapsed, seriously damaged. At least 242,000 people died so far (some people said it three times), the third (or perhaps second) most deadly earthquake.

The 2004 earthquake and tsunami have become the most fatal natural disasters in the world since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. The earthquake was the third strongest earthquake since 1900. The most deadly earthquake in history occurred in Shaanxi province of China in 1556, and the estimated death toll was 830,000 people, but the data of this period may not be reliable. Prior to 2004, the tsunami caused by the Kurakjant volcanic eruption in India and the Pacific in 1883 was thought to have caused the death of 36,000 to 120,000 people. It was probably the most deadly tsunami in the area. In 1782, about 40,000 people were murdered by the tsunami (or hurricane) in the South China Sea. The most deadly tsunami before 2004 was the Italian earthquake in Messina in 1908, about 123,000 people died in the earthquake and tsunami.

The most fatal earthquake in China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake is the strongest earthquake since the Chaoyang earthquake since 1950. Mianyang, Kure River, Deyang, Guangyuan, Chengdu prefecture level department suffered the greatest loss of life. Most collapsed buildings are located in rural areas and do not comply with building standards. At least 4.8 million people are homeless. All highways entering the epicenter of Wenchuan were destroyed by the earthquake and the arrival of the rescue team was delayed.