ABSTRACT
Although minor earthquakes occur nearly every day, the effects of a strong earthquake are devastating. The Shaanxi earthquake, the deadliest in history, killed 830,000 in rural China in 1556. Recent fatal earthquakes took place in Taiwan in September 1999, India in January 2001, Southeastern Iran in December 2003, Sumatra in December 2004, and Pakistan in October 2005. Earthquakes have been some of humankind’s major enemies in the battle against natural disasters.
