Investigation of the Shandan MS7.3 Earthquake Damage in 1954

On February 11,1954,an earthquake with M7.3 occurred in Shandan county of Hexi corridor,West China.It was the first great earthquake in northwest China after 1949.The earthquake left 47 people dead,332 people injured and tens of thousands of people homeless;nearly 7277 buildings were damaged or collapsed and the property loss was more than one billion Yuan(RMB)at a rough estimate.In the meizoseismal area,the intensity was Ⅺ,the Hongsihu basin and Shandan County was the most serious damage,and in Shandan,the earthquake-stricken area was 4800 km2.In the paper,a brief introduction is presented to the Shandan earthquake,including the basic parameters,distribution of seismic intensity and natural environment.The characteristics of building destruction are particularly discussed,the earthquake disaster distribution features and economic loss evaluation are also analysed.Finally,causes of the earthquake damage,experiences and lessons as well as implications of protection against earthquake and disaster reduction are summed up.