Human consequences
Some prefectures lose up to 60% of their population.
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EarthquakeShaanxi earthquake
830,000Deaths
Not quantifiedDisplaced / homeless
Not quantifiedEstimated cost
- Historical estimate from the Ming annals: the deadliest earthquake ever recorded.
An earthquake of estimated magnitude 8 strikes the Wei River valley in the middle of the night. Much of the population lives in yaodong, cave dwellings dug into the loess, which collapse on their occupants.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
Giant landslides on the Loess Plateau, cracks several metres wide and diverted rivers.
Economic consequences
Regional agricultural collapse and famines in the following years.
Political consequences
The scholar Qin Keda, a survivor, writes down some of the earliest advice on protecting oneself during earthquakes.
Further reading
Similar disasters
- Haiyuan earthquakeEarthquake · China1920
- Tangshan earthquakeEarthquake · China1976
- Great Kantō earthquakeEarthquake · Japan1923
- Sichuan earthquakeEarthquake · China2008
In the rankings : The deadliest earthquakes in history No. 1
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