[31], Most of the damage to the vertical shafts occurred within the first 50 meters, where they pass through the water-bearing alluvium. Most aftershocks occurred between these end points, in a zone 140 km long and about 50 km wide. [32], Some electrical power to the mines was restored in three days, and some coal production resumed within ten days. The cost of damage done by the earthquake is almost impossible to measure in modern terms. [50], The following January (1977) the Nationalists released a document they said had been presented at an emergency conference on relief work the previous August by the Hopeh Provincial Committee of the party and the Hopeh Revolutionary Committee. According to author Stephen Spignesi, a "couple of days" after the quake Dr. Pararas-Carayannis gave United Press International (UPI) an estimate of 700,000 to 750,000 deaths, based on a similar sized earthquake in Shaanxi province in 1556 that caused 830,000 deaths. 'Great Tangshan earthquake'), also known as the Great Tangshan earthquake, was a natural disaster resulting from a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that hit the region around Tangshan, Hebei, People's Republic of China on 28 July 1976, at 3:42 in the morning. [12] Surface rupturing occurred in five en echelon segments extending eight kilometers through the center of Tangshan.[13]. In this zone most buildings classified as Class III (well-built buildings of wood, masonry, or reinforced concrete[27]) survived,[28] but many Class II buildings (typically old wood-frame buildings lacking a well-built frame, and quite common outside of the cities) were destroyed, while a majority of Class I buildings (built of adobe or stone) were destroyed. Mexico still tallying the economic cost of big earthquake. 'Great Tangshan earthquake'), also known as the Great Tangshan earthquake,[5] was a natural disaster resulting from a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that hit the region around Tangshan, Hebei, People's Republic of China on 28 July 1976, at 3:42 in the morning. News reports the next day located the quake "about 100 miles southeast of Peking and 63 miles northeast of Tientsen" (Tianjin); i.e., "almost precisely in Tangshan". The main shock caused a 75-mile (120-km) subsurface rupture that extended bilaterally north-northeast and south-southwest of Tangshan… For the most part the mine roadways (tunnels) were not seriously damaged, but with the loss of electrical power there was no illumination (aside from headlamps), no ventilation, and no working lifts. Introduction. More than 6000 people died. [71] To the south these sediments have formed a layer of weak soils as much as three kilometers thick. Earthquake that occurred in 1976 in Tangshan, Hebei, China. Heaviest damage was within the dark brown line (intensity VII and greater). Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The early recovery planning was driven by the central state’s ideological priorities. Further out (to the outer orange contour), and around the city of Tianjin and a few isolated patches, intensity VIII shaking mostly affected Class I buildings (more than half destroyed), bridges, and tall brick chimneys. On the other hand, it is reported that several people at the State Seismological Bureau (SSB) wanted to warn of an impending earthquake somewhere in the region between Beijing and the Bohai Sea, and that this was discussed at several meetings. At 3:42 a.m. on July 28, 1976, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit the sleeping city of Tangshan, in northeastern China. The disaster of the M s 7.8 earthquake occurred in Tangshan, China, on July 28 th 1976 caused at least 240,000 deaths. [39], Railway operations were further impaired by the loss of communications (including signalling) and water supply (for the steam locomotives), in both cases due mainly to collapse of buildings and loss of electrical power. The 1976 Tangshan earthquake (Chinese: 唐山大地震; pinyin: Tángshān dà dìzhèn; lit. On July 28, 1976 at 4 am a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Tangshan region of China. The shaking, which lasted 14 to 16 seconds, transformed much of the region’s exceptionally deep sandy soil into a fluidlike mass (liquefaction). A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Ecuador on April 16, 2016. The dilemma: an "abundance of caution" leads to many false alarms. The Tangshan earthquake was complex, with multiple events. While some of this greater mortality might be attributed to the exposure of a larger population, or the time of day (Haicheng was struck in the early evening, Tangshan while most people were asleep[84]), the principal factor appeared to be the failure to take any precautionary measures: Tangshan was entirely unprepared. Some 242,000 people were officially reported as having been killed, though the death toll may have been higher. The earthquake occurred along a previously unknown fault, now called the Tangshan Fault, in the Cangdong fault system near that system’s intersection with the Yin Shan–Yan Shan mountain belt. [34] All of this was built "with no consideration for earthquake resistant design",[35] although some "earthquake resistance measures" for large and medium bridges were applied following the 1975 Haicheng earthquake. [54], The remarkably low death toll of the Haicheng earthquake the previous year – initially said to be fewer than 300,[58] much later estimated at a still very modest 2,041[59] [41] Most difficult was where soft or liquefied soil allowed the bank to slide into the river, shifting the abutments. [122], The immediate and massive response by the government resulted in the rescue of thousands of people in the first two days (after which mortality increases rapidly),[123] while prompt attention to the problems of clean water, food, and public health avoided the mortality due to epidemic disease and starvation that often follows such disasters.[124]. [96] As it turned out, western China was hit by the magnitude 7.2 Songpan-Pingwu earthquake only three weeks after Tangshan,[97] showing that those arguing for the imminence of an earthquake in Western China were not entirely wrong. See also Cha (1976, p. 7), attributing achievement of rapid progress to "the victory of our great proletarian cultural revolution. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In following June it was reported[52] that the Chinese authorities had briefed seismologist Cinna Lomnitz about Tangshan. [48] Pararas-Carayannis' current web page[49] says only that "it was fairly accurately estimated that there were at least 655,000 people dead," without mentioning by whom or on what basis this estimate was made. No other earthquake in the 20th century was as catastrophic or claimed as many lives as that which struck the city of Tangshan in Northern China on July 28, 1976. [98] The next morning, at an emergency meeting he requested with the Bureau's leadership, Wang was reportedly told by Deputy Chief Cha Zhiyuan that "We are currently very busy. Underlying all this is the ancient bedrock of different kinds of metamorphic rock (such as schist, gneiss, quartzite, granulite, etc.) Railway track was also subject to bending or displacement, depending on soil conditions.[25]. [69], Tangshan lies at the northern edge of the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Plain, an alluvial plain that stretches from Beijing to the Sea of Bohai. This shock was believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century. She had become trapped after the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century hit Tangshan, Hebei province, at 3 am on July 28, 1976, killing more than 240,000 and crippling another 16,000. The left-lateral motion here, along with the right-lateral motion on the Tangshan fault, suggests that as the crustal blocks to the west and east are compressed together the block between these two earthquakes is being squeezed out to the south. 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