Top 10 Worst Disaster in China

     China is the home of over 1.3 billion people ( 1,337,798,957  as of July 2010 . A record holder of most populous in the world. China is not only popular in population.  It is also the country that most affected by worst disaster.China had 6 of the world's deadliest natural disaster .

    Top 10 Worst Disaster in China

 

10. Benxihu Colliery Mining Disaster 1942
        
       In April 26, 1942  a deadly explotion in Honkeiko Colliery Mining occured , 1,549 miners died in a mine operated in Japanese manchuria. Making it one of the worst mining disaster of all time. The Japanese forced the Chinese to work at the mine under very poor conditions. No sufficient clothing, food and in harsh condition of health . The miner worked for 12 hours or longer. The Japanese also likely are culprit in this accident. Benxihu Colliery  also known as Honkeiko Colliery Mining Disaster.

9.  Sichuan, China Earthquake and Flood 2008

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck near Chengdu in Sichuan, China on May 12, 2008.  Killing 69,197 confirmed dead including the 68,636 in Sichuan province.






 8. Catasthropic Banqiao Dam Failure

The Banqiao Dam was built in order to hold back around 12 inches of rainfall each day. However, in August 1975, those who created the dam would realize it wasn’t enough. During this time a storm came, caused by a collision between a cold front and Super Typhoon Nina, that brought heavy rains. The rain was so heavy that 7.46 inches fell every hour. This added up to about 41.7 inches of rain each day. The dam failed because of sedimentation blockage and 15.738 billion tons of water was released within the next few days. Waves up to 23 feet high rushed down streets at 31mph and destroyed everything. After the water settled down, over 231,000 people were dead.







7. Haiyuan Earthquake 1920

     Seven provinces were affected by the disaster of Haiyuan earthqueake. On December 16, 1920, a 7.8 earthquake hit Ningxia, China. For three years after the earthquake, aftershocks continued. In just Haiyuan County, more than 73,000 people were killed.  The earthquake also caused landslides that buried the Sujiahe in Xiji County, It is also caused a  large ground cracks, especially close to the epicenter of the earthquake.  Over 200,000 total casualty, in a summary published by the United State Geological Survey, according to Ningxia Daily , a Chinese publication it is 240, 000.





 6. Tanshan Earthquake 1976

     The Tangshan earthquake happened on July 28, 1976. It is said to be the 20th century’s largest earthquake. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in Tangshan, which is located in Hebei, China. The city was industrial and had about one million people living in it. The disaster struck early in the morning and lasted 10 seconds or so. It has been said that the earthquake was 7.8-8.2 magnitude. Not only did the earthquake kill, but the 7.8 magnitude aftershock increased the number of deaths. The earthquake was said to first have killed 655,000 people, but the number has been decreased to about 255,000 people.

5. Shaanxi Earthquake, 1556

The Shaanxi earthquake stands as the deadliest earthquake ever. On February 14, 1556, an earthquake hit China. Its epicenter was in the Wei River Valley, and as many as 97 counties in places such as Henan, Shaanxi, Hebei, Anhui, and others were affected. In Huaxian, every building that stood was ruined and more than half of the people that lived there were killed. Some statistics show that some counties have up to 60% of their population killed. In all, more than 830,000 people died from the Shaanxi earthquake. Studies have shown that the earthquake’s magnitude was somewhere around 8. Because it was so strong, aftershocks were felt for nearly half a year later.

4. The Yellow River Flood 1887


 The Yellow River, 1887 which is located in China, is extremely prone to flooding. In 1887, the Yellow River flooded and completely devastated about 50,000 square miles of land. The flood is said to have killed between 900,000-2,000,000 people. Farmers that lived and planted near the river had built small dikes that were, at one point, able to hold back water if it rained. However, the heavy rain that came much too quickly overpowered the dikes and the river flooded.



3. The Central China Flood

Occurring in 1931, the Central China Floods is said to be the deadliest natural disaster that has ever been recorded. It has since been called the greatest disaster to visit China. After a long drought, China was hit by seven cyclones, which brought inches and inches of rain. During the Central China Flood, three different rivers flooded-over, and up to 4 million people were killed because of the floods. Though there were dams built to hold back water in the Yangzte, Yellow, and Huai rivers, they were either poorly built or much too small  

2. China Drought in 1920s

     China drought in 1920s more than 5 million people died, The 1920s drought was the most severe and well-recorded natural hazard in the semi-arid and arid areas of northern China . A variety of historical records including newspapers, unpublished reports, and books about natural hazards in each province documented the 1920s drough cause the 5 million lives. The 1920s drought had a devastating effect not only on agricultural productivity,  hydrological resources and society in the affected areas, but also on natural vegetation.











1. The Great Chinese Famine


Officially referred to as the Three Years Of Natural Disaster between 1958  to 1961 characterize by widespread famine. According to government statistics , there were 15 million excess death in this period.  Unofficial estimates varym but the scholars have estimated the number of famine victims to be between 20 million and 43 million.

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