The survivors of the Tangshan earthquake in northeast China in 1976 which killed a quarter of a million people are still living in terror of a repetition of the disaster.
Before the quake hit on that hot summer's night in July 1976, Tangshan had been just another Chinese coal mining town with a population of about one million.
But in a few seconds, the power of the earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, destroyed over 90 per cent of the city's buildings and left 248,000 people dead and dying.
It was by far the biggest natural disaster this century, and the horror of it for those who experienced it first hand will never be wiped off their memories.
Tangshan was closed to foreigners for seven years following the disaster, and foreign journalists have only just been allowed to visit the city to find out what really happened.
Mr Yao Guangqing, a city official now involved in reconstruction work, gave a vivid description of his experience during the quake:
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