The Shaanxi Earthquake of 1556 was known to be the deadliest earthquake in reported history.

With an
estimated casualty of 830,000 and millions more either injured or homeless in the aftermath, the
earthquake resulted to an average death toll of 60% of the population in the affected counties.
Compared to the Great Chilean Earthquake which measured a magnitude 9.5 in the Richter scale, the
Shaanxi earthquake measured a lower number of magnitude 8 and an estimated intensity of XI, but still
carried out the most fatalities in the history of earthquakes. This is primarily due to the fact that this
death toll was mostly a result of massive landslides and building collapses on badly built homes and
loess cave dwellings. This loess is silty soil which is soft and often times used in carving out houses on
hillsides (called Yaodongs). Although the use of this material was advantageous by keeping the house
cool in the summer and warm during winters, it is extremely vulnerable to seismic activities that’s why
most of these homes collapsed during the earthquake, burying communities.

Granted, this happened in the mid 1500’s where technology and engineering has not yet evolved like
today’s society, but this occurrence managed to catapult the awareness and innovation of the locals of
Shaanxi in order to minimize the effects of future seismic activities by using more earthquake-resistant
materials such as wood and bamboo.