1976 Tangshan Earthquake
The great Tangshan Earthquake struck on July 28th, 1976. Reports say 242,769 people died as casualty to this force of nature. The magnitude of the earthquake is a 7.5 on the Richter Scale with the epicenter being in Tangshan. This is the 2nd most devastating earthquake, after the Shaangxi earthquake. The overwhelming amount of people dead and buildings demolished is due to the fact that Tangshan's buildings had bad structure and were not reinforced. 85% of the city was not reinforced which is why this is one of the world's worst earthquakes!