1976 Tangshan earthquake
The 1976 Tangshan earthquake (), also known as the Great Tangshan earthquake, was a natural disaster resulting from a 7.6 earthquake that hit the region around Tangshan, Hebei, People's Republic of China on 28 July 1976, at 3:42 in the morning. The maximum intensity of the earthquake was XI ("Extreme") on the Mercali scale. In minutes, eighty-five percent of the buildings in Tangshan collapsed or were unusable, all services failed, and most of the highway and railway bridges collapsed or were seriously damaged. At least 242,000 people died (some have said three times that), making this the third (or possibly second) deadliest earthquake in recorded history. The lack of warning and foreshocks, in contrast to the earlier 1975 Haicheng earthquake, was a principal factor in the large number of casualties.