Evacuation before the Haicheng earthquake
Evacuación previa al terremoto de Haicheng
- Date
- 4 de febrero de 1975 · confidence high
- Place
- Haicheng, Liaoning, China
- Credited to
- Liaoning Seismological Bureau
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
After a series of foreshocks, changes in well water levels and anomalous animal behaviour, authorities evacuated the area hours before the magnitude 7.3 earthquake of 4 February 1975. It is cited as the best-known case of an evacuation ahead of a major earthquake.
Heavily disputed: whether it was a prediction or a reaction to the foreshocks; the Tangshan earthquake (1976), with 242,000 deaths, could not be foreseen. The number of lives saved is uncertain.
What it led to
- earthquake prediction programmes in China and elsewhere
- debate over the usefulness of precursors