9. The Tangshan Earthquake in China
China as mentioned is prone to seismic activity owing to its location and the people of China had to bear the brunt of living in such zone. The Tangshan earthquake struck in 1976 killing around 300,000 people. The magnitude of the earthquake recorded on the Richter scale was around 7.8 – 8.2. Although the earthquake lasted only 15 seconds, it took its toll by way of a large number of casualties.