Tangshan Earthquake, China 1976

Tangshan Earthquake, China

The 1976 Tangshan earthquake is an ominous reminder of how man-made institutions can enhance the effects of natural disasters. On July 28, 1976, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the market city of Tangshan, which had a population of about 1.6 million. The earthquake tremors flattened it roughly entirely and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. The Chinese government gave a statistic of 240,000 killed as a corollary of the earthquake, but the death toll is notion by many to be much higher because of China's tendency to politicize natural disasters. Even at 244,000 fatalities, the Tangshan disaster is the second biggest of all time.

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Aftermath

In the aftermath of the earthquake, China refused help from the United Nations and all other international bodies because it felt the need to demonstrate to its populace that it was a self-respecting nation. Initially, the Chinese government had set the death toll for the quake at 655,000 fatalities but, over the years, it greatly reduced the number to 240,000 and many feel that discount came about due to the mishandling of relief efforts by its idealistic leaders who notion they could cope the catastrophe without the international community.

Government Inaction

I find the actions taken by China's government to be inhumanely selfish and self-serving. Had there been maximum relief efforts taking place from all over the world, it is likely that many more population could have survived, but a paranoid, insecure leadership prevented that. The level of delusion of the Chinese leadership at that time was like something out of a crudely written comic book.

Timing

The earthquake could not be predicted, as is the case with many disasters that arise from their tremors. To make matters worse, the earthquake struck at 4Am, a time when most of Tangshan's population was asleep, so anything earthquake survival skills or salvage protocol that could have been put in place by the populace and local government were thwarted. The timing of the earthquake no doubt led to many additional fatalities.

Learning

I think the example of Tangshan serves as a model for what governments should not do in the event of an earthquake strike. Obviously, the natural disaster could not have been prevented, nor was there any salvage the infrastructure of the city, but many lives could have probably been saved were it not for the paranoid, self-serving Chinese regime.

Tangshan Earthquake, China 1976