More than 45 years have passed, but the Tangshan earthquake is still a horror not only for the Chinese people, but also for the whole world.
The deadliest earthquake of the 20th century
At 3:42 a.m. on July 28, 1976, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Tangshan City (Hebei, China).
The epicenter of the earthquake was in the central city of Tangshan . In an instant, a city with a population of one million was reduced to rubble, with heavy losses to the lives and property of the people as well as national assets. The area of damage from the earthquake exceeded 30,000 square kilometers , and the affected area covered 14 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, equivalent to one-third of the country's total area.
A scene of devastation in part of Tangshan city after the horrific 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
The earthquake killed nearly 255,000 people, seriously injured 1,645.81 million people, and left more than 1,700 people permanently disabled in Tangshan City alone; 14.79 million square meters of public infrastructure were destroyed, and 5.3 million houses collapsed. The Tangshan earthquake was the world's deadliest earthquake in the 20th century.
Millions of people were left homeless and years of psychological pain for most of the survivors caused Tangshan, an industrial city with a history of hundreds of years, to decline dramatically. The Tangshan earthquake is an indelible pain in the minds of the Chinese people.
As history was set on July 28, 1976, Tangshan, an industrial city on the Bohai Sea coast, was shaken. It was the earthquake with the largest number of casualties to date. Since then, dark memories have shrouded the city.
Kailuan Coal Group's Linxi Mine Coal Washing Plant collapsed.
The reinforced concrete Thang Loi Bridge in Tangshan City collapsed in the terrible earthquake.
When the disaster struck, the cities and villages were filled with great grief, so intense that the people of Tangshan forgot to cry for a while. Under the gray sky of the city, everywhere you could see dust rising from collapsed houses, twisted and broken precast concrete slabs, the miserable cries of the injured and the scattered corpses.
The city fell into unprecedented despair, people began to spread rumors of "the sky falling" , the survivors began to flee to the mountains, some even climbed onto the train tracks, because they thought the long rails would not easily collapse to the ground.
Tangshan City is located between the Yinshan-Yanshan uplift and the Jibo Depression in the North China Plain, on the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan-Bohai Fault Belt. There are 252 earthquakes in the Tangshan area recorded in the "China Earthquake Catalogue".
"Flowers have bloomed" in the terrible disaster that befell Tangshan
Disasters come and go, leaving behind death and devastation. When people mention the Tangshan earthquake, they only remember the terrible numbers and images of devastation.
But in the midst of the disaster, there were people struggling to save each other. One person was rescued from the rubble with great effort, blood and tears. After the disaster, the pain remains forever, and those who remain must continue to live.
Rescue work was stepped up after the terrible earthquake.
From about 5 a.m. after the earthquake, announcers were on duty cycling through the rubble of Zhaogezhuang within a radius of 3-4 kilometers while broadcasting announcements over and over again to maintain order and security. In the panic of the rubble, the familiar voice from the mobile radio brought great comfort to everyone, and they quickly organized to join the earthquake relief ranks.
In the eyes of all the survivors, saving lives was the most important thing, including the prisoners in Tangshan City Prison. The prisoners were organized into three rescue teams, one of which was a special rescue team under the supervision of armed guards. With blood on their hands and sweat on their faces, the prisoners carefully carried the injured children and frightened elderly people. Most of those rescued from the rubble were seriously injured, many with severed limbs. Every time they rescued a victim, the prisoners couldn't help but sigh softly, some even shed tears.
Ten minutes after the shaking ended, five miners in Zhaokezhuang Town tried to shake off the pile of coal and stood up, only to find themselves in a desperate situation. Water was about to rise, ventilation was blocked, the roadway had collapsed in many places, and the passageways were blocked, making the air underground increasingly thin. However, these five people survived 15 days underground, creating a miracle in the dark days of Tangshan.
Zhang Yuqing, a member of the medical team, was examining the people. After the Tangshan earthquake, he was sent to the disaster area to provide earthquake relief. He will never forget that for three days and three nights from the evening of July 28 to July 31, all the medical staff did not sleep, not even for a few minutes. Due to overwork, Zhang Yuqing fainted three times: " After waking up, I washed my face with cold water and immediately went to rescue the injured."
"At that time, the aftershocks were very strong, shaking every few seconds. Our medical team did not care about their own safety, and worked day and night to rescue the injured," said 75-year-old Doan Hieu Than, the former military doctor, recalling the more than 40 days and nights he spent experiencing the disaster in Duong Son in 1976.
After the earthquake, medical staff began vigorous epidemic prevention work.
A village has become a rehabilitation center for quake-affected patients. Nearly 50 years have passed, and the physical pain caused by the earthquake in Tangshan has gradually subsided, but the emotional scars still torment the survivors of the disaster.
Yao Cuiqin is a female soldier who was injured and disabled in the Tangshan earthquake. Overcoming her pain, Yao Cuiqin (right) continues to live passionately and often sings for patients in a nursing home.
Pure white lilies and pink carnations were offered at the Tangshan Earthquake Memorial as a greeting from the living to those who fell on this land.
This is the memorial to the victims of the terrible Tangshan earthquake in 1976. The names are engraved on large stone tablets, if lucky, they will be found and remembered by people, otherwise they will just lie there as a sad mark of history. Every Qingming Festival or July 28, Tangshan people will burn paper money on the streets and alleys. Thousands of fires are lit scattered throughout the city to comfort those who have fallen on this land.
