A night the earth didn't sleep
Strange things were happening in the countryside of northeast Hebei.
For three days the water in the village wells rose and fell, rose and fell.
Farmers noticed that the well walls had deep cracks in them.
A smelly gas came out of the cracks. In the farmyards,
the chickens and even the pigs were too nervois to eat.
Mice ran out of the fields looking for places to hide.
Fish jumped out of their bowls and ponds.
At about 3:00 am on july 28, 1976, some people saw bright lights in the sky.
The sound of planes could be heard outside the city of Tangshan even when no
planes were in the sky. In the city, the water pipes in some buildings cracked
and burst. but the one million people of the city, who thiught little of these events,
were asleep as usual that night.
At 3:42 am everything began to shake. It seemed as if the world wasat an end!
Eleven kilometres directly below the city the greatest earthquake of the 20th
century had begun. It wasfelt in Beijing, which is more than two hundred kilometres away.
One-third of the nation felt it. A huge crack that was eight kilometres long and thirty
metres wide cut across houses, roads and canals. Steamburst from holes in the ground.
Hard hills of rock became rivers of dir. In fifteen terrible seconds a large city lay
in ruins. The sufferingof the people was extreme. Two-thirds of them died or were
left without parents. The number of people who were killed orinjuredreached more
than 400, 000.
But how could the survivors believe it was natural?
Everywhere they looked nearly everything was destroyed. All of the city's hospitals,
75%of its factories and buildings and 90% of its homes were gone. Brickscovered the
ground like red autumn leaves. No wind, however, could blow them away. Two damsfell
and most of the bridges also fell or were not safe for travelling. The railway tracks
were now uselesspieces of steel. Tens of thousands of cows would never give milk again.
Half a million oigs and millions of chickens were dead. Sand now filled the wells
instead of water. People were shocked. Then, later that afternoon, another bigquake
which was almost as strong as the first one shook Tangshan. Some of therescue workers
and doctors weretrapped under the ruins. More buildings fell down. Water, food,
and electricitywere hard to get. people begab to wonder how long the disasterwould last.
All hope was not lost. Soon after the quakes, the army sent 150, 000 soldiers to
Tangshan to help the rescue workers. Hundreds of thousands of people were helped.
The army organized teams to dig outthose who were trapped and to burythe dead.
To the north of the city, most of the 10, 000 minerswere rescued from the coal mines there.
Workers built shelters for survivors whose homes had been destroyed.
Fresh water was taken to the city bu train, truck and plane. Slowly,
the city began to breathe again.