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What was the most damaging earthquake in history?

The most damaging earthquake in recorded history took place in Tangshan, China. At 4 a.m. on July 28, 1976, a tremor lasting less than a minute destroyed 89 percent of homes and 78 percent of industrial buildings. The quake registered 8.2 on the Richter scale (This scale, which measures the magnitude of an earthquake, has graded steps beginning with 1 and ending with 10; each step is about 60 times greater than the preceding step.). Although Chinese officials reported 255,000 deaths, international observers estimate the true total to be 750,000, that is 75 percent of the entire population of Tangshan.

Further Information: Dixon, Dougal. Natural Disasters. New York: Reader's Digest Books, 1997, pp. 34–51; Earthquakes. [Online] Available

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1. Natural Disasters
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   2. What were the deadliest volcanic eruptions in history?
   3. What is the strongest earthquake measured?
   4. What is the strongest earthquake in a city?
   5. What was the most damaging earthquake in history?
   6. How disastrous was the San Francisco earthquake?
   7. How often have tidal waves happened?
   8. Has a tidal wave ever hit the United States?
   9. What were the deadliest tropical storms in the world?
   10. What was the worst hurricane in U.S. history?
   11. Which hurricane caused the most damage?
   12. How long have hurricanes had names?
   13. Which country has the worst floods?
   14. When was the Johnstown Flood?
   15. What were the harshest blizzards to hit the United States?
   16. What was the Dust Bowl and what effect did it have?
   17. What were the worst famines in history?
   18. How much damage was done by the Great Fire of London?
2. Man-Made Disasters
   1. Was the Chicago fire really started by a cow?
   2. What was the impact of the fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas?
   3. What happened at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge?
   4. What is the true story of the Titanic?
   5. Was the Titanic the most disastrous shipwreck in history?
   6. What effect did the sinking of the Titanic have?
   7. What happened to the Hindenburg?
   8. What is the worst airplane crash in history?
   9. What happened to the spacecraft Apollo 13?
   10. Why did the space shuttle Challenger explode?
   11. What was Love Canal?
   12. What happened at Three Mile Island?
   13. What was the worst industrial accident in world history?
   14. What caused the nuclear accident at Chernobyl?
   15. Was the World Trade Center bombing really part of a larger terrorist plan?
   16. Was the Oklahoma City bombing the worst act of terrorism on U.S. soil?