tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872819010848426693.post7581140536506730246..comments2024-03-28T02:46:03.227-04:00Comments on The Historical Society: Earthquakes through TimeRandallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16755286304057000048noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872819010848426693.post-42928121748133029202011-10-29T10:18:20.580-04:002011-10-29T10:18:20.580-04:00Why you never mention the The Spitak Earthquake in...Why you never mention the The Spitak Earthquake in Armenia, in 1988. The earthquake killed at least 25,000 people.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Spitak_earthquakeIrenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15503906215356577906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872819010848426693.post-18407795739292475242011-03-13T21:57:22.717-04:002011-03-13T21:57:22.717-04:00Joel: That's fascinating. I had no idea. I con...Joel: That's fascinating. I had no idea. I confess, I've followed the continuing worry over the damaged Japanese nuclear plants mostly with deep concern for the people of Japan (and for the people of other countries and for the oceans), but also a bit with a political eye. There had been concern in Japan about nuclear energy on a fault line for a long time, and the government downplayed dangers. That such terrible damage happened despite their best efforts will certainly have political repercussions.<br /><br />On a more personal level, my heart bleeds for those elderly people whose first memories are of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, at the end of their lives, their existence is yet again defined by the dangers of nuclear technology. It's a strange symmetry, and one of the saddest I can imagine.hcrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07334093881332383848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872819010848426693.post-67294140075480252122011-03-12T16:24:17.126-05:002011-03-12T16:24:17.126-05:00This is a fascinating post.
I would add a recent ...This is a fascinating post.<br /><br />I would add a recent major earthquake that had profound political implications: The 1985 Mexico City earthquake. It was quite powerful (magnitude 8.1) and it hit a city of 18 million that sits on land that is about as stable as a bowl of jello because a lot of Mexico City is built on landfill over the lakes of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.<br /><br />The Mexican government's response -- refusing even to request aid from the US, helping factory owners rescue equipment at the expense of locating trapped people, aid to party members over more threatened populations -- and the fact that so many public buildings that the government had claimed to be earthquake-proofed crumbled quickly and dangerously, led to a broad based and thorough critique of the ruling PRI. <br /><br />The 1985 earthquake could be seen as one of the first factors leading to the downfall of the PRI (under various names) after holding power for more than 70 years.Joelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13141742420717242724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872819010848426693.post-56968411751797466302011-03-12T12:44:23.742-05:002011-03-12T12:44:23.742-05:00Heather: I had no idea bout that site before I wen...Heather: I had no idea bout that site before I went out West. <br /><br />Thanks for that link. I was thinking about mentioning the infamous 1811 New Madrid earthquake to my US History, 1783-1865, class. <br /><br />A USGS page describes it like this:<br /><br />1811, December 16, 08:15 UTC Northeast Arkansas - the first main shock<br />2:15 am local time<br />Magnitude ~7.7<br /><br />"This powerful earthquake was felt widely over the entire eastern United States. People were awakened by the shaking in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Charleston, South Carolina. Perceptible ground shaking was in the range of one to three minutes depending upon the observers location. The ground motions were described as most alarming and frightening in places like Nashville, Tennesse, and Louisville, Kentucky. Reports also describe houses and other structures being severely shaken with many chimneys knocked down. In the epicentral area the ground surface was described as in great convulsion with sand and water ejected tens of feet into the air (liquefaction)."Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755286304057000048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872819010848426693.post-24081959771404837442011-03-12T11:54:00.658-05:002011-03-12T11:54:00.658-05:00Thanks for this, Randall. I had no idea there were...Thanks for this, Randall. I had no idea there were active websites detailing these quakes-- I guess I never thought to look. There was also the great colonial New England earthquake, which many interpreted to be a direct communication from God. A quick summary of some of the source materials on it is at:<br /><br />http://www.suite101.com/content/the-new-england-earthquake-of-1638-a127975hcrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07334093881332383848noreply@blogger.com