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N0KFQ > TODAY 28.12.13 16:30l 48 Lines 2024 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Dec 28
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Sent: 131228/1455Z 9427@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.57
Dec 28, 1908:
Worst European earthquake
At dawn, the most destructive earthquake in recorded European
history strikes the Straits of Messina in southern Italy,
leveling the cities of Messina in Sicily and Reggio di Calabria
on the Italian mainland. The earthquake and tsunami it caused
killed an estimated 100,000 people.
Sicily and Calabria are known as la terra ballerina--"the dancing
land"--for the periodic seismic activity that strikes the region.
In 1693, 60,000 people were killed in southern Sicily by an
earthquake, and in 1783 most of the Tyrrenian coast of Calabria
was razed by a massive earthquake that killed 50,000. The quake
of 1908 was particularly costly in terms of human life because it
struck at 5:20 a.m. without warning, catching most people at home
in bed rather than in the relative safety of the streets or
fields.
The main shock, registering an estimated 7.5 magnitude on the
Richter scale, caused a devastating tsunami with 40-foot waves
that washed over coastal towns and cities. The two major cities
on either side of the Messina Straits--Messina and Reggio di
Calabria--had some 90 percent of their buildings destroyed.
Telegraph lines were cut and railway lines were damaged,
hampering relief efforts. To make matters worse, the major quake
on the 28th was followed by hundreds of smaller tremors over
subsequent days, bringing down many of the remaining buildings
and injuring or killing rescuers. On December 30, King Victor
Emmanuel III arrived aboard the battleship Napoli to inspect the
devastation.
Meanwhile, a steady rain fell on the ruined cities, forcing the
dazed and injured survivors, clad only in their nightclothes, to
take shelter in caves, grottoes, and impromptu shacks built out
of materials salvaged from the collapsed buildings. Veteran
sailors could barely recognize the shoreline because long
stretches of the coast had sunk several feet into the Messina
Strait.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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