SHAANXI

EARTHQUAKE

CASE STUDY

THE DEADLIEST EARTHQUAKE IN

HISTORY
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
MOHAMMED NAZIH RIHAN | 190011601025 | CIVIL DEPT.
 CHINA | THE DEADLIEST
CVA
EARTHQUAKE
MOHAMMED NAZIH RIHAN | 190011601025 | CIVIL DEPT.

● JANUARY 23rd , 1556 ● ESTIMATED AT MAGNITUDE 8  830,000+

DEATHS

THE SHAANXI EARTHQUAKE

The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake,
or Huaxian earthquake, or Jiajing
earthquake, is the deadliest
earthquake in recorded history.
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. This massive
death toll is thought to have
reduced the population of the two
provinces by about 60 percent. It
occurred on the morning of 23
January 1556 in Shaanxi, during
the Ming dynasty.   The Indian
Tectonic Plate and Eurasian
Tectonic Plate are constantly
moving and at the speed of 26-
36mm/year. The pre-modern
structures were utterly unable to
withstand a quake of such force,
and massive landslides contributed
to the casualties. All told, an area
some 500 miles wide was wiped
out. The quake struck in late
evening, with aftershocks
continuing through the following
morning. Later scientifi c
investigation revealed that the
magnitude of the quake was
approximately 8.0 to 8.3, which
isn’t close to the strongest
tremor on record. However, the
quake struck in the middle of a
densely populated area with
poorly constructed buildings and
homes, resulting in a horrifi c
death toll.
The epicenter of the earthquake
was in the Wei River Valley in
the Shaanxi Province, near the
cities of Huaxian, Weinan and
Huayin. In Huaxian, every
single building and home
collapsed, killing more than half
the residents of the city, a
number estimated in the tens
of thousands. It was a similar
story in Weinan and Huayin.
In some places, 60-foot-deep
crevices opened in the earth.
Serious destruction and death
overestimated slightly, it would
still rank as the worst disaster
in history by a considerable
margin. More than 97 counties in
provinces of Shaanxi , Henan,
Gansu, Hebei, Huban, Jiangsu and
Anhui were affected.
The earthquake is often referred
to in traditional Chinese history as
the Jiajing Earthquake. Today, it is
more commonly known as the
Shaanxi Earthquake of 1556.
Although the upheaval lasted only
for a few seconds, it leveled
mountains, opened fissures up to
66 feet deep in the earth, altered
the path of rivers, caused massive
flooding, produced massive
landslides, and ignited fires that
lasted for days. Over half the
population of Huazhou was killed,
as every single home and building
was destroyed in an upheaval that
probably registered 8 on the
Richter scale.
There have been other
earthquakes that registered far
higher on the Richter scale, and
occurred as much as 300 miles
away from the epicenter. The
earthquake also triggered
landslides, which contributed to
the massive death toll. Even if
the number of deaths caused by
the Shaanxi earthquake has
been
that lasted for far longer. But none
have ever killed as many people as
did the Shaanxi Earthquake of
1556. As described in the annals of
China:
“In the winter of 1556, an
earthquake catastrophe occurred in
the Shaanxi and Shanxi Provinces.
In our Hua County, various
misfortunes took place. Mountains
and rivers changed places and
roads were destroyed. In some
places, the ground suddenly rose
up and formed new hills, or it sank
abruptly and became new valleys.
In other areas, a stream burst out
in an instant, or the ground broke
and new gullies appeared. Huts,
official houses, temples and city
walls collapsed all of a sudden“.
In addition to significant loss of life,
reaching into the hundreds of
thousands, the earthquake caused
significant cultural damage. The
Small Wild Goose Pagoda, built in
709, lost its top floor and about 6
feet of height. China’s Stele Forrest
museum, which housed a steadily
growing collection of steles and
stone sculptures since the 11th
century, was badly hit, and many
of its artifacts were damaged or
destroyed. Most significant of those
was a collection known as the
Tang Stone Classics, that were
engraved on 114 stone tablets on
the orders of a 9th century
emperor. 40 of those tablets were
broken during the earthquake.

but an entire hillside falling on and

burying whole
Aftershocks continued for six
months. In many counties within
the earthquake’s zone of
communities. When it was over,
destruction, over 60% of the
around 830,000 had been killed,
population was killed outright, with
and millions more were injured
many of the remainder injured, and
and/ or made homeless. That made
all the survivors were left without
the 1556 Shaanxi Earthquake the
shelter. Fatalities were particularly
deadliest earthquake ever, and the
high because most of the
third deadliest natural disaster in
population in Shaanxi and
history, exceeded only by the 1931
surrounding regions, taking
China floods, and the 1887 Yellow
advantage of the soft loess soil,
River flood. The cost of the
had built their homes out of earth
damages caused by the Shaanxi
shelters known as yaodongs – a
earthquake is probably impossible
form of artificial cave carved out of
to measure in modern terms. To
hillsides. Such houses have the
put it in perspective, however,
advantage of being cool in the
China at the time was the world’s
summer and warm in the winter,
wealthiest country, and the
but they had the disadvantage of
earthquake destroyed an entire
being particularly vulnerable to
region of its core, killing 60% of
seismic activity. When the
that region’s population. A modern
earthquake struck, they collapsed,
analogy might be a natural disaster
with not only the weight of a roof
that destroyed America’s Mid-
collapsing upon the inhabitants,
Atlantic states, and killed over half
their population.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES:
▪ To prevent an earthquake when it strikes stay inside and get under a
heavy table or desk.
▪ Stay away from windows, skylights, doors and things that could fall.
  One of the biggest hazards during an earthquake is falling debris and
furniture. 
▪ Avoid these areas.  Duck, cover and hold until the shaking stops.  If you
can’t take safe cover, protect your head and neck with your arms.  
▪ Do not evacuate the building unless emergency personnel direct you to
leave. ▪ If you are outside, move quickly into the open, away from electrical
lines, trees and buildings. 
▪ Remember that stone and masonry facings can break loose and fall away
from upper parts of buildings. 
▪ Drop to the ground and wait for the shaking to stop. If you are in a car,
stop safely away from structures, large trees, power lines, and other
hazards. 
▪ Don’t stop your car under bridges or near roadway signs. 
Stay inside the vehicle.
AFTER EFFECTS:
After an earthquake, one must be  prepared for aftershocks.  These can last
for days or even weeks after a major earthquake. If you have experienced
damage from an earthquake, Report it as soon as possible. Check gas lines
and make sure there are no leaks.  If you smell gas, turn off the gas if
possible and call the gas company.  Don’t use candles until gas lines are
checked. Wait for the gas company to turn the gas back on. Check
throughout your home before you use certain utilities, such as sewage
connections, and even chimneys Check for damaged electrical wiring.  Shut
off the power if you see damaged wiring in your house. Use mobile to report
emergencies only.

CAUSE:
Like other earthquakes, the reason for Shaanxi earthquake is also because of
the movement of the tectonic plates. The Indian Tectonic Plate and Eurasian
Tectonic Plate are constantly moving and at the speed of 26-36mm/year.

Tectonic plates are large chunks of the earth’s crust, and the cracks between
these chunks are known as faults. Earthquakes occur on faults. A fault is a
thin zone of crushed rock separating blocks of the earth's crust. When
an earthquake occurs on one of these faults, the rock on one side of
the fault slips with respect to the other.
So even the plate moves at the very slow speed, the energy released when
the both of the plates collide each other is tremendous. The energy is not
released at once rather stored for many years and energy gets released as
an earthquake releasing some/most energy.

East Qinling’s northern Piedmont fault is the likely origin of the Shaanxi
disaster.

HUMAN INFLUENCE:
Prevention of natural earthquakes from occurring is not
possible,but we can significantly mitigate their effects by identifying hazards,
building safer structures, and providing education on earthquake safety. By
preparing for natural earthquakes we can also reduce the risk from human
induced earthquakes.

Building construction, carbon capture and storage, nuclear explosions,

geothermal operations and research experiments that test fault stress can
cause minot tremors too,which is why it should be prevented or minimized.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
OVERCOMING LOSSES & EMERGENCY POLICIES:

The costs of the damage caused by shaanxi earthquake is almost

immeasurable but if you were to try it would come out to be around
$25,000,000. The Chinese government has since implemented many new
efforts to establish a modern emergency management system. In order to
support the earthquake relief and reconstruction the Ministry of Finance and
State Administration of Taxation has implemented post disaster tax
deductions and exemptions. In December of 2005, China established a new
Emergency Management Office (EMO). "Master State Plan for Rapid
Response to Public Emergencies", "The Law of the People's Republic of China
on Emergency Responses", and "The Emergency Law" are only a few acts
that have been initiated on.