Tangshan – The Deadliest Earthquake

http://history1900s.about.com/od/horribledisasters/a/tangshan.htm

Update: Has moved to thoughtco.com but the above links still works which is kinda nice.

When the media tell you that the Asian Tsunami is the dealiest earthquake in living memory they are wrong – my girlfriend nearly died in 1976 when her home was destroyed and over 240,000 people died (some reports put the figure as high as 665,000) in the Tangshan earthquake. Luckily her father snatched her out of her bed just seconds before it was crushed beneath several tonnes of rubble.