1556 Shaanxi earthquake

Shaanxi earthquake in 1556
Map of China showing modern-day Shaanxi province (red) and the other provinces affected by the earthquake (orange)
1556 Shaanxi earthquake is located in China
1556 Shaanxi earthquake
Local date23 January 1556 (1556-01-23) in Julian calendar[1]
2 February 1556 (1556-02-02) in Gregorian calendar
The 12th day of the 12th month of the 34th year of the Jiajing era in Chinese calendar
Local timeEarly morning
Magnitude7.0–7.5 Mw,[2] 8.0 Mw [3]
DepthUnknown
Epicenter34°30′01″N 109°18′00″E / 34.50028°N 109.30000°E / 34.50028; 109.30000
Areas affectedMing dynasty
Max. intensityMMI XI (Extreme)
Casualties
  • 100,000+ (direct deaths) ~730,000 (indirect deaths)[4][5][6][7]
Map of the Weihe–Shanxi Rift System along the southern and eastern margin of the Ordos Block

The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake (Postal romanization: Shensi), known in Chinese colloquially by its regnal year as the Jiajing Great Earthquake "嘉靖大地震" (Jiājìng Dàdìzhèn) or officially by its epicenter as the Hua County Earthquake "华县地震" (Huàxiàn Dìzhèn), occurred in the early morning of 2 February 1556 in Huaxian, Shaanxi during the Ming dynasty.

Most of the residents there lived in yaodongs—artificial caves in loess cliffs—which collapsed and buried alive those sleeping inside. Modern estimates put the direct deaths from the earthquake at over 100,000, while over 700,000 migrated away or died from famine and plagues, which summed up to a total loss of 830,000 people in Imperial records.[4][5][6][7] It was the deadliest recorded earthquake in history, and in turn one of the deadliest natural disasters in Chinese history.

  1. ^ International Association of Engineering Geology International Congress. Proceedings. [1990] (1990). ISBN 90-6191-664-X.[author missing][title missing][page needed] [verification needed]
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Feng20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Du et al. 2017, p. 84.
  4. ^ a b 邬福肇; 曹康泰; 陈章立, eds. (1998). "第三章 地震灾害预防". 中华人民共和国防震减灾法释义. 法律出版社. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023. １５５６年我国陕西的华县８级大地震，共死亡约８３万人，但实际上其中７０多万人死于其后的瘟疫和饥荒。
  5. ^ a b 高东旗; 王常有; 杜玉萍; 王晓燕 (2008). "大地震后传染病的防疫要点". 华北国防医药 (3). 1556年陕西发生大地震，当时死亡10万人，而第2年发生大瘟疫，却死亡70多万人 [100,000 died in 1556, while a plague struck the subsequent year and led to a further death of 700,000-odd.]
  6. ^ a b China Earthquake Administration, ed. (2008). 地震知识百问百答. 地震出版社. Archived from the original on 9 May 2009. 实则直接死于地震的只有十数万人，其余70余万人均死于瘟疫和饥荒 [Actually, direct deaths from earthquake amount to 100,000-odd, the remaining 700,000-odd died from plagues and famine]
  7. ^ a b 颤抖的地球—地震科学 Archived 13 November 2023 at the Wayback Machine (2005). Researched by China Earthquake Administration seismologists 冯万鹏,薑文亮,龚丽霞,公茂盛,胡进军; Revised by CEA seismologists 王文清,续春荣,张宝红; Edited by CEA chiefs 谢礼立,张景发. Tsinghua University Press. Pages XIII, 162. "1556年陕西华县8级大地震，死亡的83万人中, 据估计死于瘟疫者不下七八成" [Among the 830,000 died, it is estimated that no less than 70% or 80% died from plagues]