Most homes destroyed in an earthquake
- Who
- Huaxian, Shaanxi
- What
- 830000 people
- Where
- China (Huaxian, Shaanxi,)
- When
- 23 January 1556
The homes of more than 830,000 people were destroyed in the massive magnitude-8 earthquake of 23 January 1556, with its epicentre near Huaxian, Shaanxi, China. In Huaxian itself, every single residence was eradicated. Both here and further afield many of the homes destroyed were yaodongs (artificial caves) burrowed out of soft clay cliffs, the collapse of which contributed greatly to the catastrophic death toll.