1556: Shaanxi, China 明代陕西大地震

The deadliest quake of all time might be one of the least talked about, considering it occurred nearly 450 years ago.The 1556 quake claimed the lives of some 830,000 people. Why the massive death toll? Blame the quake's strength (8.0 on the Richter scale, or more than 30 times more powerful than the recent quake in Haiti) as well as timing and location. The pre-modern structures were utterly unable to withstand a quake of such force, and massive landslides contributed to the casualties.

历史上最可怕的地震也许是最少被谈及的一场地震，因为它发生在450年之前。这场地震导致83万人死亡。为何死亡人数如此巨大？原因在于震级（里氏8.0级，比刚发生的海地地震强30倍），还有时间和地点。古代的房屋建筑完全不能抵挡这样的大地震，大面积的山体滑坡也导致不少人遇难。

1976: Tangshan, China 唐山大地震

China has the misfortune to have had the second deadliest earthquake on record, the 1976 Great Tangshan Earthquake, which struck in the country's northeast. It'd be more accurate to call this a binary quake: an aftershock that struck 16 hours after the initial temblor measured an identical 7.8 on the Richter scale and was equally destructive.

继陕西地震之后，中国又发生了第二大强度的地震，1976年唐山大地震，确切来说是两次大地震：地震后16小时，里氏7.8级的余震又造成了巨大损失。

2004: Indian Ocean Tsunami 印尼海啸

On Dec. 26, 2004 a 9.2 magnitude earthquake rocked the bottom of the Indian Ocean, releasing energy equivalent to that of 23,000 atomic bombs. The largest earthquake in 40 years, the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (so named because the epicenter was near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra) launched a tsunami across the Indian Ocean, sending a series of waves as high as 50 feet crashing onto the shores of 11 countries. Some people were swept out to sea while others drowned in their homes, unable to escape. According to the U.S. Geological survey, the official death toll was 227,898.

2004年10月26日，印度洋海地爆发9.2级地震，其能量相当于两万三千颗原子弹爆炸。这次的苏门答腊 -安达曼地震是40年来最大的一次（如此命名是因为震中在苏门答腊岛西海岸附近），引发了印度洋海啸，高达50英尺的海浪袭击了11个国家的海岸。一些人被卷入海中，其他人由于无法逃脱，淹死在家中。美国地质勘探局统计显示，死亡人数为227，898。

1920: Haiyuan, China 宁夏海原地震

The Dec. 16, 1920 Haiyuan earthquake — which registered a 7.8 magnitude on the Richter scale — caused rivers to change course and sent landslides pouring down mountains. Destruction stretched across seven Chinese provinces. Sujiahe, a town in in Xiji County, was completely buried under a landslide. An estimated 200,000 people died in the disaster, which was felt as far away as Norway.

1920年十月十六日宁夏海原发生的里氏7.8级大地震使得河流改道，并导致山体滑坡。七省同时受灾。西吉县苏家河镇在一次滑坡中整体被埋。二十万人死于此次地震，并且震感远至挪威。

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