�� You have heard it said: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11) And we hear the Judeo‑Christian preachers pounce on this like a cat on a mouse so let's look at what has been recorded about earthquakes. �� Magnitude of earthquakes (Mag.), distinct from deaths or damage caused, is measured on the Richter scale, on which each higher number represents a tenfold increase in energy measured in ground motion. Adopted in 1935, the scale has been applied in the following table to earthquakes as far back as reliable seismograms are available. ����������������������� Major Earthquakes Date������������ Location������� ��������Deaths� Mag. 526��� May 20��� Syria, Antioch....����� 250,000� NA 856��� ...������ Greece, Corinth...������ 45,000�� " 1057�� ...������ China, Chihli.....������ 25,000�� " 1268�� ...������ Asia Minor, Cilicla...�� 60,000�� " 1290�� Sept. 27� China, Chihli.........� 100,000�� " 1293�� May 20��� Japan, Kamakura.......�� 30,000�� " 1531�� Jan 26��� Portugal, Lisbon......�� 30,000�� " 1556�� Jan 24��� China, Shaanxi........� 830,000�� " 1667�� Nov.����� Caucasis, Shemaka.....�� 80,000�� " 1693�� Jan 11 ���Italy, Catania........�� 60,000�� " 1730�� Dec 30��� Japan, Hokkaido.......� 137,000�� " 1737�� Oct 11��� India, Calcutta.......� 300,000�� " 1755�� June 7��� N Persia..............�� 40,000�� " 1755�� Nov 1���� Portugal, Lisbon......�� 60,000� 8.75* 1783�� Feb 4���� Italy, Calabria.......�� 30,000� NA 1797�� Feb 4���� Ecuador, Quito........�� 41,000�� " 1811‑12 series�� New Madrid, MO........������ NA� 8.7 1822�� Sept 5��� Asia Minor, Aleppo....�� 22,000� NA 1828�� Dec 28��� Japan, Echigo.........�� 30,000�� " 1868�� Aug 18��� Peru and Ecuador......�� 40,000�� " 1875�� May 16��� Venezuela, Columbia...�� 16,000�� " 1886�� Aug 31��� Charleston, S.C.......������ 60� 6.6 1896�� June 15�� Japan, sea wave.......�� 27,120� NA 1906�� Apr. 18�� San Francisco, CA.....����� 700� 8.3 1906�� Aug 16��� Chile, Valparaiso.....�� 20,000� 8.6 1908�� Dec 28��� Italy, Messina........�� 83,000� 7.5 1915�� Jan 13��� Italy, Avezzano.......�� 29,980� 7.5 1918�� Oct 11��� Mona Passage, P.R.....����� 116� 7.5 1920�� Dec 16��� China, Gansu..........� 100,000� 8.6 1923�� Sept 1��� Japan, Yokohama.......� 200,000� 8.3 1927�� May 22��� China, Nan‑Shan.......� 200,000� 8.3 1932�� Dec 26��� China, Gansu..........�� 70,000� 7.6 1933�� Mar 2���� Japan.................��� 2,990� 8.9 1933� �Mar. 10�� Long Beach, CA........����� 115� 6.2 1934�� Jan 15��� India, Bihar‑Nepal....�� 10,700� 8.4 1935�� May 31��� India, Quetta.........�� 50,000� 7.5 1939�� Jan 24��� Chile, Chilian........�� 28,000� 8.3 1939�� Dec 26��� Turkey, Erzincan......�� 30,000� 7.9 1946�� Dec 21��� Japan, Honshu.........��� 2,000� 8.4 1948�� June 28�� Japan, Fukul..........��� 5,131� 7.3 1949�� Aug 5���� Ecuador, Pelileo......��� 6,000� 6.8 1950�� Aug 15��� India, Assam..........��� 1,530� 8.7 1953�� Mar 18��� NW Turkey.............��� 1,200� 7.2 |
1956�� June 10‑17 Afghanistan..........��� 2,000� 7.7 1957�� July 2��� N Iran................��� 2,500� 7.4 1957�� Dec 13��� W Iran................��� 2,000� 7.1 1960�� Feb 29��� Morocco, Agadir.......�� 12,000� 5.8 1960�� May 21��� S Chile...............��� 5,000� 8.3 1962�� Sept 1��� NW Iran...............�� 12,230� 7.1 1963�� July 26�� Yugoslavia, Skopje....��� 1,100� 6.0 1964�� Mar 27��� Alaska................����� 131� 8.4 1966�� Aug 19��� E Turkey..............��� 2,520� 6.9 1968�� Aug 31��� NE Iran...............�� 12,000� 7.4 1970�� Jan 5���� China, Yunnan Province�� 10,000� 7.7 1970�� Mar 28��� W Turkey..............��� 1,086� 7.4 1970�� May 31��� N Peru................�� 66,794� 7.7 1971�� Feb 9���� San Frandando Valley, CA� ���65� 6.6 1972�� Apr 10��� S Iran.................�� 5,057� 6.9 1972�� Dec 23��� Nicaragua..............�� 5,000� 6.2 1974�� Dec 28��� Pakistan...............�� 5,200� 6.3 1975�� Sept 6��� Turkey, Lice...........�� 2,312� 6.8 1976�� Feb 4���� Guatemala..............� 22,778� 7.5 1976�� May 6���� NE Italy...............���� 946� 6.5 1976�� June 26�� New Guinea, Iran Jaya..���� 443� 7.1 1976�� July 28�� China, Tangshan........ 242,000� 8.2 1975�� Aug 17��� Philippines, Mindanao..�� 8,000� 7.6 1976�� Nov 24� ��E Turkey...............�� 4,000� 7.8 1977�� Mar 4���� Romania................�� 1,541� 7.5 1977�� Aug 19��� Indonesia..............���� 200� 8.0 1977�� Nov 23��� NW Argentina...........���� 100� 8.2 1978�� Sept 16�� NE Iran................� 25,000� 7.7 1979�� Sept 12�� Indonesia..............���� 100� 8.1 1979�� Dec 12��� Columbia, Ecuador......���� 800� 7.9 1980�� Oct 10��� NW Algeria.............�� 4,500� 7.3 1980�� Nov 23��� S Italy................�� 4,800� 7.2 1982�� Dec 13��� N Yemen................ ��2,800� 6.0 1983�� May 26��� Japan, N Honshu........����� 81� 7.7 1983�� Oct 30��� E Turkey...............�� 1,300� 7.1 1985�� Mar 3���� Chile..................���� 146� 7.8 1985�� Sept 19�� Mexico City............�� 4,200� 8.1 1987�� Mar 5���� NE Ecuador.............�� 4,000� 7.3 1988�� Aug 20��� India/Nepal border.....�� 1,000� 6.5 1988�� Nov 6���� China/Burma border.....�� 1,000� 7.3 1988�� Dec 7���� NW Armenia.............� 55,000� 6.8 1989�� Oct 17��� San Francisco bay area.����� 62� 6.9 1990�� May 30��� N Peru.................���� 115� 6.3 1990�� June 21�� NW Iran................� 40,000� 7.7 1990�� July 16�� Luzon, Philippines.....�� 1,621� 7.7 1991�� Feb 1���� Pakistan/Afghanistan...�� 1,200� 6.8 1992�� Mar 13��� E Turkey...............�� 4,000� 6.2 1992�� June 28�� S Cal..................������ 1� 7.5 1992�� Dec 12��� Flores Ist., Indonesia.�� 2,500� 7.5 1993�� July 12�� Japan, off Hokkaido....���� 200� 7.7 1993�� Sept 29�� S India, Maharashtra...�� 9,748� 6.4 1994�� Jan 17��� Northridge, CA.........����� 61� 6.8 1994�� Feb 15��� Indonesia, S Sumatra...���� 215� 7.0 1994�� June 6��� SW Columbia, Cauca.....�� 1,000� 6.8 |
���������������������� Recent Earthquakes
��� Source: Global Volcanism Network, Smithsonian Institution
Date������������� Location���������������� mag.
Jan 15, 1993����� Kushiro, Japan���������� 7.0
Mar 6������������ Santa Cruz Islands������ 7.1
Mar 6������������ Fiji�������������������� 6.7
Mar 6������������ Solomon Islands��������� 6.5
Mar 12����������� Fiji������������������� �6.5
July 12���������� off Hokkaldo, Japan����� 7.7
Aug 8������������ Agana, Guam������������� 8.0
Aug 10����������� SW S 1st. New Zealand��� 7.1
Sept 10���������� Chiapas, Mexico��������� 7.2
Sept 20���������� near Klamath Falls, OR�� 5.8
Sept 29�������� ��Maharashtra, S India���� 6.4
Oct 11����������� off Tokyo coast��������� 6.5
Oct 13����������� E Papua New Guinea������ 7.2
Oct 13����������� Papua New Guinea�������� 6.8
Oct 24����������� near Acapulo, Mexico���� 6.6
Oct 25����������� Papua New Guinea�� ������7.0
Nov 13����������� off coast of Kamchatka�� 7.1
Jan 17, 1994����� Northridge, CA���������� 6.8
Jan 19����������� Iran Jaya, Indonesia���� 6.9
Jan 21����������� Halmahera, Indonesia���� 7.3
Feb 12����������� SW Vanuatu�������������� 7.2
Feb 15��� ��������S Sumatra, Indonesia���� 7.0
Mar 14����������� Mex/Guatemala border���� 6.8
June 6����������� Cauca, SW Columbia������ 6.8
June 9����������� La Paz, Bolvia���������� 8.2