Deadliest day in world’s history when over 800000 people lost their lives; not by war, plague, pandemic, nuclear leak, bombing; it was on January…, the reason was…

The ‘deadliest day in history’ can be interpreted in various ways, depending on the context, such as wars, natural disasters, or pandemics. Some of the deadliest days in history include the bombing of Hiroshima, the black death, and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. However, the world cannot forget what happened on January 23, 1556. The deadliest day in history claimed over 800,000 lives, not through war, plague, pandemic, nuclear disaster, or bombing, but due to one of nature’s most devastating forces. Read the detailed story below.

Deadliest day in world’s history when over 800000 people lost their lives; not by war, plague, pandemic, nuclear leak, bombing; it was on January…, the reason was…

The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake, which struck China’s Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces on January 23, is referred to as the world’s deadliest day in history. With an estimated magnitude of 8, it claimed the lives of approximately 830,000 people. The earthquake caused destruction, including the collapse of buildings, homes, and entire cities. Additionally, the long-term impact included famine, disease, and social upheaval. Considering today’s population, the scale of the Shaanxi earthquake remains an unimaginable tragedy.

Several media reports suggest that more people died on this tragic day than any other in history, with the majority of these deaths occurring in the Shaanxi province of northwestern China.

As reported by the South China Morning Post, the most devastating earthquake in Chinese history, known as the Jiajing earthquake, took place during the reign of the Ming dynasty’s Jiajing Emperor. The devastating earthquake, which struck simultaneously in what are now the provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Gansu, was felt as far away as the southern coast. A plaque erected three years later detailed the destruction. Historical records describe cracks forming in the ground, water gushing out, city walls and houses vanishing, and plains transforming into hills. The Yellow and Wei rivers were inundated, with the Yellow River’s normally silted waters running clear for days due to the displaced sediment.