by Martha Leonard

Created on: November 22, 2011   Last Updated: December 07, 2011

On December 16, 1920, the first earthquake in over 300 years hit Midwestern China, killing an estimated 200,000 people. The epicenter of the quake occurred in Ningxia (Ning-hsia) Province, where 73,000 were killed in the city of Haiyhan. Another 30,000 died in Guyuan County. At the time, reports rated the quake at 8.5 on the Richter scale, making it one of the most powerful earthquakes in history. While the quake was devastating, landslides resulting from the quake caused most of the actual destruction and death. 

History students often find facts about this earthquake difficult to reconcile. Western reports called it the Gansu Earthquake, which remains the popular name. Later historians, however, labeled it for the epicenter in Ningxia. Later in the century, the USGS revised the magnitude of the quake downward to 7.8. 

Whatever the name and the rating, Guinness World Records lists this earthquake as the eighth deadliest quake in history and puts the catastrophic landslides first on that list.

The populated areas not leveled by the earthquake itself were buried under tons of mud. The aftershocks lasted three days. Over 125 miles of visible, surface faults occurred and seiches (tall waves) were seen on lakes and waterways as far away as Norway. The shocks covered 25 square miles over seven provinces and ten cities. Cities suffering major damage and death in addition to Haiyhan were Lanzhou, Xian, Xining and Yinchuan. Movement was felt from the Yellow Sea to Quinghai and Inner Mongolia to Sichuan Province.

Agriculture is the main industry of the area affected by the earthquake. Historians believe that years of misuse of the ground led to poor soil conditions, opening the way for the massive landslides. The same slides that inundated the cities and towns also dammed and/or diverted rivers and covered roads. Massively changed landscapes and choked transport routes created havoc for rescue and aid coming into the area. Winter weather, lack of water and food added to the devastation and contributed to the high death rate. 

China is no stranger to earthquakes. The country averages about eighteen major earthquakes each year. Almost half of the most deadly earthquakes in history on the Guinness list have been in China. The country sits on the major fault lines which have created the Himalaya Mountain Range. There is constant pressure from the Indian Plates colliding with the those of Eur-Asia, often resulting in catastrophic results. 

Factsanddetails.com reports the Chinese began recording earthquakes as early as 1831 BC. They were using seismographs by 1000 AD. Chinese architects and engineers are credited with designing construction methods allowing movement of buildings to minimize collapse. They also created one of the first instruments to determine the direction of the epicenter of a quake. 

Since the disastrous earthquake of 1920, this area has been hit by three more earthquakes of more than 5.0 on the Richter scale. In 1932, a 7.8 earthquake caused another 100,000 deaths. Earthquakes of 2003 and 2008, while significant, did not result in catastrophic damage or death.

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