1556 Shaanxi earthquake

The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake or Jiajing earthquake was a catastrophic earthquake and is also the deadliest earthquake on record, killing approximately 830,000 people in China. It occurred on the morning of 23th January 1556 in Shanxi, during the Ming Dynasty. More than 97 counties in the provinces of Shanxi, Henan, Gansu, Hebei, Shandong, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu and Anhui were affected. An 840-kilometre (520 mi)-wide area was destroyed, and in some counties 60% of the population was killed. Most of the population in the area at the time lived in yaodongs, artificial caves in loses cliffs, many of which collapsed during the catastrophe with great loss of life.

The cost of damage done by the earthquake is almost impossible to measure in modern terms. The death toll, however, has been traditionally given as 820,000 to 830,000. The accompanying property damage would have been incalculable – an entire region of inner China had been destroyed and an estimated 60% of the region's population died.

Map of China showing Shaanxi province (red) and the other provinces affected by the earthquake (orange). This map however is not the territory covered during the Ming dynasty. This map is the present day boundary reference to where the damages were.