1976 Tangshan Earthquake

Figure 1. Damage done by the 1976 
earthquake in the city of Tangshan,
China. Source.

     On July 28, 1976, Tangshan, China was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake at 3:42 am lasting approximately 15 seconds (Rosenberg). It’s known as the deadliest earthquake of the 20^th century because it killed round 242,000 people, severely injured another 200,000, and affected at least 700,000 (Paltemaa). Immediate rescue efforts were carried out by the survivors themselves, as most of the roads into the city were destroyed in the earthquake (Rosenberg). 16 hours after the main shock, aftershocks as high as 7.1 magnitude hit the area, hindering rescue efforts (IndiaToday.in).  The Chinese government didn’t allow any foreign aid, mostly because they were in the middle of a major political change and cultural revolution (IndiaToday.in). Tangshan wasn’t regarded as prone to strong earthquakes since this was a previously unknown fault, so the region was very unprepared (Rafferty). What made it so deadly was the shallow epicenter of just 11 kilometers and the extreme liquefaction (Fig. 2) (Paltemaa). The city lies on unstable alluvial soil, so the liquefaction destroyed a great deal of infrastructure and caused major sand blows that damaged the area's agriculture (Rafferty). In the end, Tangshan was practically flattened as around 85% of buildings were either destroyed or declared inhabitable (IndiaToday.in).

Figure 2. Areas effected by liquefaction from the
earthquake. Source.

Figure 3. Shake map from the Tangshan
earthquake. Source.

     It was an unknown fault, so there was little to nothing they could’ve done beforehand. In their perspective, there was no threat of a disaster so the buildings didn’t need reinforcing or any other kind of mitigation. As for afterwards, it was just unfortunate that it happened while the political atmosphere of China was very tense and therefore refused any international help. The Tangshan earthquake shaped many earthquake preparedness procedures that would later be developed, and also introduced a lot of new information about liquefaction (UKEssays). 

Figure 4. Horizontal displacement
of a tree line. Source.

Works Cited

“Earthquake Engineering and Hazards Reduction in China.” Edited by Paul C Jennings, 

             National Academies Press: OpenBook, www.nap.edu/read/19764/chapter/5. 

Elena. "Ten Deadliest Earthquakes in the World." Trendrr, https://www.trendrr.net/2801/top

             -10-famous-deadliest-earthquakes-in-world-history/.

IndiaToday.in. “This 1976 Earthquake ... on This Day.” India Today, India Today, 27 July

             2016, www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/tangshan-

             earthquake-331810-2016-07-28. 

Paltemaa, Lauri. “Tangshan Earthquake, 1976.” DisasterHistory,  

             www.disasterhistory.org/tangshan-earthquake-1976.

Rafferty, John P. “Tangshan Earthquake of 1976.” Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 23 July 

             2010, www.britannica.com/event/Tangshan-earthquake-of-1976.

Rosenberg, Jennifer. “About The Deadly Tangshan Earthquake.” ThoughtCo, 17 Mar. 

             2017, www.thoughtco.com/tangshan-the-deadliest-earthquake-1779769.

"Study On The Tangshan Earthquake History Essay." UKessays.com. 11 2013. All Answers 
             Ltd. 02 2018, https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/study-on-the-tangshan- 
             earthquake-history-essay.php?cref=1.