At 3:42 a.m., everything began to shake. It seemed as if the world was at an end! Eleven kilometres (direct) below the city, the (great) earthquake of the 20th century had begun. It was felt in Beijing, is more than two hundred kilometres away. One-third of the nation (feel) it. A huge crack that was eight kilometres long and thirty metres wide cut across houses, roads and canals. Steam burst from holes in the ground. Hard hills of rock became rivers of dirt. In fifteen terrible seconds a large city lay ruins. The suffering of the people (be) extreme. Two-thirds of (they) died or were injured during the earthquake. Thousands of families were killed and many (child) were left without parents. The number of people who were killed or injured reached more than 400,000. Then, later that afternoon, another big quake shook Tangshan. More buildings fell down. Water, food, and electricity were hard (get). People began to wonder long the disaster would last.
