中国历次特大地震

Earthquakes in China Introduction China is located in one of the most active seismic regions of the world and has been plagued by numerous destructive earthquakes during its long history The most significant of these earthquakes in terms of lives lost was that which occurred in 1556 In the last twenty years China has experienced the second most destructive earthquake in its history The following is a brief account of the 1556 and the recent 1975 and 1976 earthquakes The Great China Earthquake of 1556 The worse natural disaster in recorded history at least in terms of lives lost was caused by an earthquake in Hausien in the Shensi Province of China in 1556 The earthquake devastated 98 counties and eight provinces of Central China The destruction spanned an area of 500 miles and in some counties the average death toll was 60 percent of the population A total of 830 000 people lost their lives most of them from the collapse of poorly constructed houses The magnitude of this earthquake has been estimated to be from 8 0 to 8 3 on the Richter scale The Haicheng Earthquake of February 4 1975 On February 4 1975 Haicheng a town with about 100 000 inhabitants in the Liaoning Province of northeast China was struck by a 7 3 magnitude earthquake As early as 1970 the State Seismological Bureau had identified the Liaoning Province as an area of high earthquake risk Based on studies of precursor events and unusual animal behavior a warning was issued by local authorities Thus when the earthquake struck on February 4 there were few lives lost as most inhabitants had evacuated to safer places However property damage was high The China Earthquake of July 28 1976 The Tangshan Earthquake No other earthquake in this century has been as catastrophic or has claimed as many lives as the great earthquake that struck the city of Tangshan in Northern China on July 28 1976 Tangshan a thriving industrial city with one million inhabitants is located only about 95 miles east and slightly south of Beijing Although the region had experienced moderate seismic activity in the past the city of Tangshan has been built on unstable alluvial soil To make matters worse The city is located in the center of an area with major crustal faults on four sides Furthermore a 25 mile long fault passes through Tangshan where only few of its structures are earthquake resistant In the early morning hours of July 28 while the city was asleep the magnitude 8 0 earthquake with its epicenter right on the city broke a five mile section of the fault Along the west side of the fault the land moved five feet northward in relation to the land on the east side The east block tipped downward at the northern end of the break and upward toward the south end Over a four by five mile area the devastation of the city was nearly total The force of the quake motions were so strong that people reported being thrown in the air Within seconds thousands died Property destruction was unbelievable Bridges railroads homes factories were completely leveled In the harbor city of Tientsin 60 miles to the southwest and in Beijing to the west the quake jolts forced thousands of frightened people into the streets seeking refuge from aftershocks 导言导言 中国是世界上地震最活跃的地区之一 在其悠久的历史中 曾遭受了许多破坏性的大地震 就人员伤亡而言 1556 年发生的大地震损失最为惨重 在过去的二十年里 中国还经历了 另一个最破坏性的大地震 以下是简 1556 以及最近的 1975 年和 1976 年的特大地震的简单 介绍 1556 年特大地震年特大地震 就伤亡人数来说 有记载最严重的自然灾害 是 1556 年发生在陕西华县的超强地震 那次 地震共摧毁了中国中部地区的 8 个省和 98 个县 破坏范围面积达 500 英里 因为房屋简陋 83 万人失去了生命 在一些受灾县 平均死亡人数为 60 据估计 这次地震为里氏 8 0 到 8 3 级 1975 年年 2 月月 4 日海城地震日海城地震 1975 年 2 月 4 日 在中国东北辽宁省的海城 一个约有十万居民的镇 发生了 7 3 级的特 大地震 早在 1970 年 国家地震局就把辽宁省确定为地震高风险地区 当地政府根据震前 先兆与动物的反常行为 发出了地震预警 当二月四日爆发大地震时 因为大部分的居民 已疏散到安全的地带 生命损失很少 不过财产损坏很大 1976 年年 7 月月 28 日特大地震 唐山大地震 日特大地震 唐山大地震 在本世纪 没有任何其他大地震能与发生在 1976 年 7 月 28 日中国北方的唐山市所造成的 巨大灾难或死亡人数相比的特大地震 唐山位于北京东部偏南 95 英里 原文如此 译者注 人口一百万 是一个繁荣的工业城市 过去该地区曾经历过中度地震活动 唐山市的地 基不稳定 土壤为冲积土质 更为糟糕的是 唐山正好处于四周为主要的地壳断层的区域 中心 此外 25 英里长的断层带正好通过唐山 唐山的建筑物结构很少具有抗震性 7 月 28 日清晨 整个城市还在睡梦中 突然爆发了 8 0 级特大地震 震中在断层的 5 英里