Exactly 461 years ago, on January 23, 1556, the Great China Earthquake struck, killing 830,000 people. It is considered the largest earthquake in history in terms of the number of victims. Modern scientists estimate its strength at 8.7 points.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Shaanxi district, at the right tributary of the Yellow River - Weihe. This is the oldest agricultural region in China, quite densely populated already in those years (in fact, it was one of the most densely populated areas of the planet). The tremors were so strong that 20-meter cracks and gaps opened in the ground, immediately filled with water in half with the mud carried by mudflows, and people drowned in the liquefied soil. The destruction could be observed within a radius of 850 km from the epicenter.
The photo above shows a map, where Shaanxi is marked with a red center, and other areas of China affected by the earthquake are marked with an ocher one.
In Shaanxi, more than 60% of the population died, some areas were completely depopulated. Such a huge number of victims is due to the fact that most of the population lived in loess structures, which collapsed after the first aftershocks.
It was also believed at the time that it was safer to be indoors during an earthquake. Therefore, many residents died without even trying to get out of their homes. Those buildings that survived (for example, the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an) have gone two meters deep into the ground.
The Great Chinese Earthquake is the third disaster in the history of mankind, the number of victims of which was recorded in writing.
Here is what is written in the annals: In the winter of 1556, a catastrophic earthquake occurred in Shaanxi and the provinces around it. Our county, Hua, has suffered numerous misfortunes and misfortunes. Mountains and rivers changed their location, roads were destroyed. In some places, the earth suddenly rose and new hills appeared, or, on the contrary, parts of the former hills went underground, swam and became new plains.
Promotional video:
The Portuguese monk Gaspar da Cruz, who visited China at the same time, in 1556, in his book "Treatise on China" described the earthquake in detail. True, adding with true Christian mercy that this is God's punishment for the fact that the Chinese are not Christians.