Increasing Resilience to Earthquakes and Landslides in Shaanxi Province

The deadliest recorded earthquake, accompanied by numerous landslides and aftershocks, happened in Shaanxi, China in 1556. It devastated Xi’an, the big city at the east end of the Silk Road. World population was perhaps 500 million, and 830,000 people perished in that event. A lesser but still deadly earthquake occurred in 1558 between Xi’an and Weinan, a city to the east along the Wei River.

Today, scientists know that earthquakes will recur on faults, and several faults in the Wei River Valley could generate a big one. We worked with colleagues from China and the United Kingdom to understand modern Weinan’s earthquake resilience challenges, and what might be done to address them.

Our role was to explain the risk to non-technical people and to show the steps needed to prepare. GeoHazards International developed a scenario of a plausible earthquake and a narrative that highlights key problems and solutions. Through a process we facilitated, people of diverse technical fields and experience contributed insights to define the likely hazard and the realistic consequences in Weinan. Also notable, several government agencies at national, regional and local levels collaborated for the first time on this effort.

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We wrote one version of the scenario using a graphic novel format. This makes findings approachable to the public, including community members, rural families and youth. Characters in a fictional family encounter building collapses; landslides; disruption of transportation, water and power; damage to schools and hospitals; death, and injury. Readers can envision how their own lives would suddenly change when a major earthquake strikes.

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We developed a second, more technical version of the story for regional, municipal, and local government officials. The project team’s research and technical studies on regional tectonics, landslide geology, structural engineering and social science are explained. This version includes short term and long term strategies to reduce vulnerability and make the community more resilient to earthquakes.