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The Deadliest Earthquake Ever Recorded
History Channel ^ | February 6, 2023 (original September 8, 2017) | Becky Little

Posted on 02/11/2023 10:24:39 AM PST by SunkenCiv

Estimates say it killed 830,000 people.

Humans have documented earthquakes for nearly 4,000 years. Of those recorded, the deadliest occurred in China. On January 23, 1556, a powerful quake rocked the province of Shaanxi and the neighboring province of Shanxi, killing an estimated 830,000 people.

Historical records often refer to the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake as the Jiajing Great Earthquake because it occurred during Emperor Jiajing’s reign in the Ming dynasty. The approximate death toll comes from local annals that also tracked 26 earthquakes in the region. In those records, the earthquake is starkly different from others: they describe leveled mountains, floods, fires that burned for days and a drastically altered landscape. The annals estimated that some counties lost about 60 percent of their population.

Even though the death toll is in question, the Shaanxi earthquake is considered the deadliest earthquake because its casualties are much higher than any other disaster. (The second deadliest recorded earthquake next to Shaanxi was the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed an estimated 230,000 people across Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.)

(Excerpt) Read more at history.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: 1556; china; earthquake; earthquakes; emperorjiajing; godsgravesglyphs; mingdynasty; quake; quakes; shaanxi; shanxi
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To: alancarp

The ground will drop some 6 feet or more at the shore.

Up to 2 feet inland as far as Portland.

If the whole thing unzips, it will last as least as long as the Japan earthquake in 2011.

BTW, I have seen videos from Engineers who say that if that thing would have went on for another couple minutes, skyscrapers could have dropped in Tokyo. Those buildings were designed to take it, but they did not figure that those buildings would “quiver” like they did.


21 posted on 02/11/2023 11:19:51 AM PST by crz
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To: TangoLimaSierra

Perhaps likewise with Cascadia...


22 posted on 02/11/2023 11:25:21 AM PST by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: SunkenCiv

When people like Stacy “Battle Tank” Abrams fall.


23 posted on 02/11/2023 11:27:54 AM PST by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
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To: SunkenCiv

Global warming!


24 posted on 02/11/2023 11:38:38 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: gibsonguy
[I’ve been hearing Yellowstone is “overdue” my whole life.]

There's "geological late" and then there's laaate.


25 posted on 02/11/2023 11:45:11 AM PST by PLMerite ("They say that we were Cold Warriors. Yes, and a bloody good show, too." - Robert Conquest )
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To: SunkenCiv

Can’t even fathom the current 20,000+, much more the 830,000+. And that was without trained rescuers, equipment and anything beyond herbal medicine.

Prayers for those affected in Turkey and Syria. May God work miracles in the lives and spirits of the people there.


26 posted on 02/11/2023 11:51:08 AM PST by skr (Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. - Proverbs 14:34)
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To: vetvetdoug
New Madrid, San Andreas, and Yellowstone are all overdue. What if they all went at once?

I'd say we all run outside and start whooping and waving our hats like Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove.

27 posted on 02/11/2023 12:19:00 PM PST by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐To the Left, The Truth is Right Wing Violence⭐⭐)
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To: SunkenCiv

I survived the 1964 9.2 quake here in Alaska. The ground shook so hard that you couldn’t stand up and it lasted for 5 minutes! If that were ever to occur in a populated area millions would die!


28 posted on 02/11/2023 12:26:29 PM PST by Species8472 (Fireball XL5)
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To: SunkenCiv

Still way less than communist/climate change morons!


29 posted on 02/11/2023 12:29:03 PM PST by US_MilitaryRules (#PureBlood)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

The whole world will suffer from the “Volcanic Winter” as the debris in the atmosphere circles, for many years.


30 posted on 02/11/2023 12:30:58 PM PST by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: vetvetdoug

That’d make an interesting movie.


31 posted on 02/11/2023 12:34:27 PM PST by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Caused by climate change. Yeah?


32 posted on 02/11/2023 12:39:11 PM PST by Honest Nigerian
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To: SunkenCiv
"Humans have documented earthquakes for nearly 4,000 years. Of those recorded, the deadliest occurred in China. On January 23, 1556, a powerful quake rocked the province of Shaanxi and the neighboring province of Shanxi, killing an estimated 830,000 people."

History always repeats, thankfully. That ought to be a factor of 10 this time around.

33 posted on 02/11/2023 12:41:29 PM PST by StAnDeliver (Tanned, rested, and ready.)
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To: vetvetdoug
New Madrid, San Andreas, and Yellowstone are all overdue. What if they all went at once?

Then the world will be a far better place, for the USA, the Great Satan that is the fountain head of capitalist exploitation, racism and the despoliation of the environment will be no more.

34 posted on 02/11/2023 12:42:05 PM PST by Fiji Hill
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To: vetvetdoug
"New Madrid"

If the Reelfoot Rift collapsed in something approaching 8.0 and took the linked Wabash zone with it, it would change the course of this nation, not to mention the course of the Miss, Ohio, Tenn, Missouri, and other lesser rivers.

Imagine the Missouri and the Mississippi simply rushing through the debris of St. Louis and the Arch.

The only good news is that New Madrid has a history of winding up and winding down over about a year's span (1811-1812, and then similar clusters, according to Wiki, around 1450, 900, and 300AD). We might get some warning.

35 posted on 02/11/2023 12:57:14 PM PST by StAnDeliver (Tanned, rested, and ready.)
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To: gibsonguy
"I’ve been hearing Yellowstone is “overdue” my whole life."

You're whole life is but a snap of the fingers when it comes to geologic time.

36 posted on 02/11/2023 12:59:21 PM PST by The Duke (Never Retreat, Never Surrender!)
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To: vetvetdoug
"... What if they all went at once? ..."

.

Next week's poker game is off - definitely.

37 posted on 02/11/2023 1:24:39 PM PST by GaltAdonis
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To: SunkenCiv

Here is a very good visual presentation of the earthquakes of California from 1989 to 2019. LOTS OF EARTHQUAKES!!!

https://youtu.be/qYgz1OCbeu8

Whole lot of shaking going on!


38 posted on 02/11/2023 1:32:44 PM PST by Doctor DNA (Fine words butter no parsnips, and where's my Martian passport?)
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To: Species8472

I remember seeing pictures of that quake. I’m sure they can’t begin to tell the story of what you experienced.


39 posted on 02/11/2023 1:35:25 PM PST by telescope115 (My feet are on the ground, and my head is in the stars.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Total deaths related to the recent Turkey quakes (Syria included) are going to be much, much higher than people are expecting


40 posted on 02/11/2023 1:50:07 PM PST by Third Person
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