1556 Shaanxi Earthquake, China

The catastrophe occurred on 23 January 1556 when the densely populated loess plateau collapsed. Residents lived in yaodong—cave dwellings carved into soft cliffs—that completely buckled under the tremors. The quake caused subsidence exceeding 20 meters across 840 square kilometers, an area larger than New York City. Ground acceleration reached 0.6 g, surpassing the 0.4 g recorded for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, intensifying the destruction in this historically unique disaster.