Liaoning Haicheng Earthquake
At 19:36 on February 4, 1975, a strong earthquake struck the area of Haicheng and Yingkou counties in China's Liaoning province (40 degrees 41 minutes north latitude, 122 degrees 50 minutes east longitude). Magnitude 7.3, depth of 16, 21 kilometers, epicenter intensity of 9 degrees strong.
The earthquake occurred in the economically developed and densely populated south-central Liaodong Peninsula. In the seismic intensity of 7 degrees within the region, there are Anshan, Yingkou, Liaoyang, three larger cities, with a population of 167.8 million; and Haicheng, Yingkou, Panshan and other 11 counties, with a population of 6.67 million. The total population is 8,348,000, of which the urban population accounts for 20%, and the average population density is about 1,000 people per square kilometer. Liaoning Province is one of the industrial bases in China, and the total output value of heavy industry is at the top of the country. The iron and steel joint venture in Anshan City is known as "Steel Capital" in the country. The district has convenient transportation, dense highway and railroad networks, and is an important hub for transportation in Northeast China. There are also 1 large reservoir, 109 small and medium-sized reservoirs.
The Haicheng earthquake was the largest earthquake ever recorded in the region. The earthquake was characterized by flashes of light and rumbling sounds. 90% of the people in the quake zone saw the low-altitude luminous phenomenon. Near and far the light color and light image is not the same, close to see a long white band of light, the distance is to see red, yellow, blue, white, purple flash. In addition, blue-white light was seen coming directly from the cracks in the earth, as well as pink balls of light coming out of the vents on the ground. Muffled thunder-like rattles were commonly heard around Haicheng, Yingkou and Panjin.
The epicenter of the earthquake covered an area of 760 square kilometers, and most of the houses and various buildings in the area were tumbled down and destroyed, the railroads were partially bent, the bridges were damaged, and the ground was cracked, pitted, and sprinkled with sand and water, and the chimneys were almost completely destroyed. The earthquake was felt in a wide range of areas, from the Nenjiang River and Mudanjiang River in Heilongjiang Province in the north to Suqian in Jiangsu Province in the south, and from Wuhuan Town in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Xi'an City in Shaanxi Province in the west, and from the eastern border of the country to North Korea, with a radius of 1,000 kilometers.
The earthquake occurred in densely populated and industrially developed areas, thus causing serious damage to ground facilities and buildings, and the phenomenon of seismic damage is complex and varied. According to post-earthquake statistics, the earthquake caused the destruction of various buildings in the town, accounting for 12.8% of the original total area of the public **** facilities more serious damage. Among them, the destruction of nearly 30,000 meters of roads, water supply and drainage pipelines more than 160,000 meters, more than 100 million meters of power supply lines, more than 450,000 meters of communication lines, more than 400 large and small chimneys. The loss of a large number of industrial equipment and production materials; in rural areas caused by the destruction of residential houses accounted for 27.1% of the original area, the destruction of 38 kilometers of highway, various types of bridges: more than 2,000; more than 700 water conservancy facilities, more than 800 kilometers of dykes, sandblasted more than 180 square kilometers of buried farmland, so that the means of production and equipment were also subjected to great losses.
From the entire earthquake area economic losses, urban housing **** damage of 5 million square meters, urban public **** facilities destroyed 1.65 million square meters, rural housing damage of 17.4 million square meters, urban and rural transportation and water conservancy did not destroy 2937; total **** equivalent to RMB 810 million. Urban and industrial earthquake damage accounted for a larger proportion of the two, compared to the town accounted for 61% of the total loss, the rural areas accounted for 39%.
Lessons Learned from Forecasting Prevention and Earthquake Relief
1. Successful short-range forecasting has effectively reduced casualties.
Before the Haicheng earthquake, China's earthquake department used to make medium-term forecasts and short-term forecasts. The first earthquake in 1970, the national earthquake work conference based on historical earthquakes, present-day seismic activity and the new characteristics of the fracture zone activity, had identified Shenyang, Liaoning Province, a Yingkou area as one of the key areas of the national seismic work to monitor. 1974 June, the State seismological bureau of the North China and the Bohai Sea area seismic trends will be held, the proposed Bohai Sea in the northern part of the region in 2012, there is a possibility of 5 to 6 magnitude earthquakes. Soon after, the State Council approved the report of the State Seismological Bureau on the seismic situation in North China and the Bohai Sea area. The State Council soon approved the State Seismological Bureau's "Report on the Seismic Situation in North China and the Bohai Sea Area", and issued medium-term earthquake forecasts for seven provinces, cities and autonomous regions. in late January 1975, the Liaoning Provincial Seismological Bureau put forward the opinion on seismic trends, which suggested that in the first half of 1975, or in January-February 1975, an earthquake of magnitude 6 or so might occur at the southern end of the Liaodong Peninsula. At the same time, the State Seismological Bureau also suggested that the southern part of Liaoning might be pregnant with a larger earthquake. at 0:30 on February 4, the Liaoning Provincial Seismological Office, on the basis of the characteristics of the small earthquakes and the increase in macro-anomalies in the junction of Yingkou and Haicheng counties on February 1-3, sent out the 14th earthquake bulletin with a pro-earthquake prediction to the whole province, suggesting that there was a larger earthquake behind the small ones, and that there was a large earthquake behind the small ones.
These are the first time that the government has issued an earthquake forecast for the whole province, and it is the first time that the government has issued an earthquake forecast for the whole province.
Due to the medium-term forecast and short-term forecast made before the earthquake, the provincial government and the earthquake area cities and counties to take a series of emergency measures to prevent earthquakes; thus greatly reducing casualties; for example, the Yingkou County government in the pre-earthquake to take four emergency precautions: ① urban and rural areas to stop all meetings; ② industry stop production, store closure,: the hospital in general patients with the war car to send home, a small number of seriously ill people who think to stay in an earthquake-proof tents Local treatment. Urban and rural guest houses, hostels to mobilize guests to leave; ③ urban and rural cultural and entertainment venues to stop activities; ④ organizations at all levels to take practical measures to do people away from the house, the animals away from the pen, the important agricultural machinery and equipment to move to a safe place. The above anti-earthquake measures have been well implemented, the streets, townships, on the one hand, using radio loudspeakers, on the other hand, send cadres door-to-door to mobilize the masses to evacuate the dangerous houses, and in some cases, open-air film screenings, thus minimizing the casualties. Such as in the earthquake intensity of 9 degrees area of the town of Dashiqiao, *** there are 72,000 residents, the exhibition of the house collapsed 67%, but only 21 deaths, minor injuries 353 people. Again, a local garrison, before the earthquake was held with the Anshan City Spring Festival condolence delegation of military and civilian gala, attended by thousands of people, when the emergency earthquake notification, decided to gala only speech does not perform the program. As a result, the personnel have just been evacuated, the earthquake occurred, the auditorium collapsed, and only injured a last to leave the soldiers.
In addition, due to the earthquake before the extensive publicity and education on earthquake prevention and mitigation, so that the majority of cadres and masses mastered the knowledge of emergency earthquake prevention, but also effectively reduce casualties and losses. As February 4, Dalian to Beijing, 31 passenger express, loaded with more than 1,000 passengers Mercedes-Benz in the earthquake area on the railroad. 19:36 train running to the extreme earthquake area before the Tangwangshan station, the train driver suddenly found that the front of the car; from the ground to the sky appeared to be a large area of blue-white flashes. This driver knew about earthquakes and immediately realized that this was a ground light and judged that an earthquake was coming, he calmly and slowly slowed down the train and during the deceleration the earthquake occurred. Due to the very low speed, there was no accident, and the train was safely stopped, ensuring the safety of all passengers.
The Haicheng earthquake occurred in a modern industrial concentration, densely populated areas. The vast majority of houses in the area are not fortified, poor seismic performance, the earthquake occurred in the winter night, according to the habits of most people in the local countryside, when the earthquake has been asleep. Under such circumstances, without prior forecasting and prevention, the casualties would have been very heavy. The casualty rates of other major earthquakes of magnitude 7 or above that were not forecasted in China, such as the Xingtai, Tonghai and Tangshan earthquakes, were 14%, 13% and 18.4%, respectively. Based on the average of the casualty rates of these three earthquakes, the casualty rate of the Haicheng earthquake was estimated to be nearly 150,000, and the death rate could be more than 50,000 people. As a result of the release of the short-range forecast, the earthquake area at all levels of government organizations to prevent the masses, so that the region's casualties *** 18,308 people, accounting for only 7 degrees of the total population of the district 0.22%, of which, 328 people died, accounting for 0.02% of the total population, 4292 people seriously injured, 12,688 people lightly injured, lightly and seriously injured accounted for the number of the total population of 0.2%.
The success of pre-earthquake forecasting and prevention has brought a series of other social and economic benefits. Due to the reduction of casualties, especially the reduction of casualties among young and middle-aged people, it effectively ensures the smooth progress of anti-earthquake relief, restoration of production and rebuilding of homes in the disaster areas. The losses caused by the large number of relief personnel dispatched by the state and the shutdown of production have been mitigated. Before the earthquake, the daily gross industrial and agricultural production in the disaster area amounted to 26 million yuan, and most of them resumed production within 10 days after the earthquake, and the whole region resumed all production within 2 months. If there had been no forecast and prevention, 3-4 billion yuan would have been lost on the basis of half a year's production. In addition, some key sectors were reinforced and treated before the earthquake to avoid possible major secondary disasters. For example, Liaoyang Senwu Reservoir is one of the large reservoirs in the province. There is no seismic defense, the quality of the project also has some problems. in January 1975, the dam was reinforced, the earthquake, the dam area rocks rolled down, the dam cracks increased, the ice appeared 90-meter-long cracks, but the entire dam is safe and sound. Another example, the Kyungmin Chemical Plant in late December 1974 on the stock of 4950 tons of explosive products to take emergency measures to transfer out, exempted from the possible explosion caused by the earthquake.
The successful forecasting of the Haicheng earthquake shook the world. This is a natural disaster in front of mankind from passive to active step of great significance, it created a human short-term earthquake forecasting success of the precedent, so that people see the prospects for earthquake forecasting is bright. It is estimated that the Haicheng earthquake prediction saved more than 100,000 people's lives and avoided billions of dollars of economic losses, for this reason alone, this prediction can be said to be a monument in the history of earthquake science. in June 1976, the United States "went to the Haicheng earthquake team" head of Prof. Reilly at the scene of the earthquake said: "China is first-rate in earthquake forecasting. Haicheng earthquake prediction is one of the world's major scientific achievements over the past decade.
2. Effective organization of earthquake relief, further reducing the earthquake disaster losses.
Just after the Haicheng earthquake, the Liaoning Provincial Government set up a provincial earthquake relief headquarters in Haicheng County overnight, with offices, medical and health care, material supply, rescue and repair, public security, seismic surveying and reporting agencies, and immediately commanded the implementation of disaster relief countermeasures program. The end of the province's disaster-stricken localities and cities, respectively, in Haicheng, Yingkou two counties set up to support disaster relief workstations, division of labor package rescue. Shenyang, Liaoning Military Region has also set up a command center in the earthquake area, guiding the local garrison to carry out earthquake relief. For example, the garrison in Haicheng County entered the disaster relief site 10-20 minutes after the earthquake. According to incomplete statistics, they **** rescued more than 2,700 people. One regiment rescued 426 people on the night of the earthquake. A reconnaissance company of a division of the Haicheng Garrison entered the county guest house 2 minutes after the earthquake, and then sent out an engineer battalion to carry out the rescue, and has played more than 40 holes, fought for 5 days and nights, dug out more than 60 people, **** saved 18 people. Rescue generally first give the wounded a strong heart, and then carried out, with this method to save the life of five wounded. after February 6, the PLA began to comprehensively clean up the rubble, whenever cleaning up a place, the first shout, listen to hear, take a look at the February 9, 11:00 a.m., and finally rescued a field purchaser was buried in the pressure for more than 110 hours, this casualty was seriously injured and 3 degrees of frostbite, by the hospital in a timely manner rescue The first step is to get out of the danger.
After the earthquake, Beijing, Jilin, Hebei and other provinces and cities, as well as Liaoning Province **** sent 101 medical teams into the earthquake area, medical personnel **** 3480 people. They are in the local people and garrison assistance, in the 2, 3 hours after the earthquake, basically the serious and critical injuries to the countryside temporarily set up medical points or convenient transportation on both sides of the highway, according to the local conditions on the injured first aid treatment. The task of evacuating the injured was basically completed within 12 hours after the earthquake. The provincial government made emergency arrangements for 16 hospitals above the county level in the province, 3 field hospitals of the army, and 3 hospitals temporarily opened in the disaster area to receive and treat the seriously injured. By March 19th after the earthquake, 3,464 of the 4,700 seriously injured admitted to hospitals at or above the county level had been discharged from hospitals after being basically cured. After the earthquake, the earthquake area also carried out a general spring patriotic health campaign to stop the continuation of infectious diseases, so that the incidence of greatly reduced.
After the earthquake, the people in the disaster area at all levels of government, under the leadership of the people, carry forward the spirit of self-reliance, hard work, faster recovery of production, rebuild their homes. In the resumption of production, the national and provincial investment of 1.03 billion yuan, the earthquake area self-financing 250 million yuan. In the rebuilding of homes, after two years of efforts, rural *** building houses 8.57 million square meters; after 16 years of efforts, urban *** building houses 3.55 million square meters, public *** facilities 110,000 square meters, the national and provincial investment of 1.78 billion yuan, the affected areas of self-financing 460 million yuan.
3. To pay attention to the prevention and control of secondary disasters of the earthquake.
The earthquake due to the occurrence of the winter in the cold months, after the earthquake secondary freezing, fire serious. Before the earthquake, for many days in the south wind, the temperature rose month by month, February 2 to 3, the highest temperature 3-6 ℃, snow and ice melt; but the wind and clouds are unpredictable and changeable, after the earthquake, suddenly turned northeast wind, snow in the sky,, the temperature dropped dramatically, the lowest temperature up to 20 ℃ below, the highest also in a 5 ℃. The dramatic change in temperature, coupled with the fact that most people live in simple earthquake shelters that are not protected from the cold, resulted in severe frostbite. In addition, the earthquake-proof shed is mostly made of flammable materials, and the winter cold heating plus cooking, lighting, etc., resulting in fires is also very serious. According to statistics, fires and frostbite *** casualties 8271 people, of which, freezing and covering death 372 people, 'frostbite 6578 people; after the earthquake *** earthquake shelter fires 3142, burned to death 341 people, burned 980 people. The number of casualties from the above secondary disasters accounted for 32% of the total casualties, a rather alarming proportion and a lesson worth remembering. In the future, while forecasting earthquakes, should also consider the different conditions of secondary disaster prediction, prevention issues.
Successful prediction of the Haicheng earthquake mystery
February 3, 1975, working in the Chinese Academy of Sciences Geophysical Institute of Li Zhiyong, the end of the Shenyang Reservoir a month of observation to Yingkou to visit his family. February 4 morning, Yingkou felt an earthquake, out of the "earthquake is the order of the" responsibility, he rushed to the Yingkou City Bureau of Science and Technology and Earthquake Office, to participate in the work. In the seismic station a steady stream of data to draw up charts, he made an important speculation at noon on February 4, in the evening of February 4, 12:00 or so may occur more than 7 magnitude of the big earthquake.
Yingkou is already on high tension, in June 1974 the State Council forwarded the 69th document of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, locking a few areas where earthquakes may occur, Beijing, Tianjin, Tang, Bohai, Zhang, "based on the existence of seismic, vigilant, and prepared for a sudden attack of an earthquake of magnitude six or more ...... "
Since then, the Yingkou area continues to appear before the earthquake signs, local earthquake workers repeatedly speculate and lock the possible time of a major earthquake. 1975 January, the Revolutionary Committee of Liaoning Province issued a seismic situation: Dandong, Yingkou, Lvdai, Panjin area there is the possibility of an earthquake of magnitude five or six.
From February 1, the needle of the seismograph at the Yingkou seismic station began to oscillate, and by February 3, small tremors intensified. in the early morning of February 4, the Seismic Office of the Liaoning Provincial Revolutionary Committee issued a briefing that an earthquake of magnitude 5 or higher was imminent. at 7:50 a.m. on the morning of February 4, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake occurred. The quake connected Li Zhiyong to observations made at the reservoir over the past month and important lessons learned from the Xingtai earthquake six years earlier. "Maybe because of my introduction as being from Beijing, and my work unit and so on, they saw me as an expert." Li Zhiyong later speculated. He posed this speculative result and the chart in front of the three directors, elaborating on his experience during the Xingtai earthquake and his own set of inferences, "The situation is now very urgent ......"
After the director heard this, he headed to the city, which in the afternoon had an emergency meeting about the earthquake, Li Zhiyong this inference was conveyed in the meeting, and through the street office and other grass-roots organizations to the public. Many people confirmed that in the afternoon of the day before the earthquake in Haicheng, residents were notified that there may be a major earthquake in the evening, and must be prepared for the earthquake, sleep can not turn off the lights and lock the door, and some places are even notified of the screening of open-air movies, and residents are advised not to go into the house to sleep and so on.
After the meeting in the afternoon, a crowd called to say that there is a ground gas gushing out of the ground, Li Zhiyong and the Office of Earthquake Office drove to see, on the way back, the big earthquake happened, "I saw fireballs rising from the ground, the earth in the non-stop sandblasting and water spraying, personally experienced this scene and the description of the feeling of others is completely different." According to the experience in the Xingtai earthquake, he initially judged the earthquake level of 7.4, and provided the data to the military as the basis for rescue and relief.
The Haicheng earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.3 and an epicenter intensity of more than 9 degrees, affected six cities and 10 counties, but only more than 1,300 people died, accounting for 0.016% of the population of the whole region. This is the first time in world history that a major earthquake of magnitude 7 or higher has been successfully predicted.
※Excerpts from New Century Weekly by Li Zi
At 06:53 GMT on November 14, 2008, a magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck Haicheng City, Anshan City, Liaoning Province, China (latitude 40.6 north, longitude 122.9 east).