Natural hazards

Earthquake and tsunami

 1976 Tangshan earthquake
 The Tangshan earthquake, also known as the Great Tangshan
earthquake was a natural disaster that occurred on July 28,
1976. It is believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th
century by death toll.

• The number of deaths initially

reported by the Chinese
government was 655,000, but
this number has since been
stated to be around 240,000 to
255,000.
 1976 Tangshan earthquake
 The earthquake hit in the early
morning and lasted 14 to 16
seconds. Chinese government
official sources state a magnitude
of 7.8 on the Richter magnitude
scale, though some sources listed it
as high as 8.2. It was followed by a
major 7.1 magnitude aftershock
some 16 hours later, increasing the
death toll to over 255,000.
 1976 Tangshan earthquake

 The earthquake devastated

the city over an area of
roughly 6.5 kilometres by 8
kilometres. Many of the
people who survived the
initial earthquake were
trapped under collapsed
buildings. Eighty-five
percent of the buildings in
the city were collapsed into
ruins or became
uninhabitable.
 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

 Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, tsunami that hit the coasts of

several countries of South and Southeast Asia in December
2004. The tsunami and its aftermath were responsible for
immense destruction and loss on the rim of the Indian Ocean.
 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

 On December 26, 2004, at

7:59 AM local time, an
undersea earthquake with a
magnitude of 9.1 struck off
the coast of the Indonesian
island of Sumatra. Over the
next seven hours, a tsunami
—a series of immense ocean
waves—triggered by the
quake reached out across the
Indian Ocean, devastating
coastal areas as far away as
East Africa. Some locations
reported that the waves had
reached a height of 30 feet or
more when they hit the
shoreline.
 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
 The tsunami killed at least 225,000 people across a dozen
countries, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and
Thailand sustaining massive damage.
 Long-term environmental damage was severe as well, with
villages, tourist resorts, farmland, and fishing grounds
demolished or inundated with debris, bodies, and plant-killing
salt water.