[34], Tenor Angelo Gamba who had performed onstage in Aida the evening before the earthquake also lost his life together with his wife and two sons when the Hotel Trinacria partially collapsed. [42] People with bare hands searched through the debris for trapped loved ones. & BOSCHI, E. (2011): Possible tsunami signatures from an integrated study in the Augusta Bay offshore (Eastern Sicily-Italy). Article navigation. [21], As late as the 1950s families were still living in the wooden barracks erected in the Tirone area to provide temporary housing for the homeless survivors. [30] American consul Arthur S. Cheney and his wife Laura were killed. The team used data from 1907-1908 to examine the pattern of uplifts and subsidence These results can be of use to the Civil Protection Department and other services for disaster planning management. On December 28, 1908 at 5:20 a.m. local time, a devastating earthquake (Mw = 7.2) struck Southern Italy along the Messina Strait (Fig. This necessitated the demolition of a number of edifices that were salvageable but did not conform to the new urban plan. On Monday 28 December 1908, from about 05:20 to 05:21, an earthquake of 7.1 on the moment magnitude scale occurred. Occurring in the early morning on December 28 and lasting for approximately 30 seconds, the earthquake was strongly felt throughout Sicily and the Calabria region of southern Italy. Ground Shaking Damage The Messina Earthquake was the result of normal faulting in the Straits of Messina. Reggio. Rescuers at the scene managed to save some people clinging precariously to gaping upper storeys, windows and teetering balconies by using ropes to pull them to safety. 28-giu-2013 - Shop from the world's largest selection and best deals for Collectible Messina Postcards. I discuss broadly also general geological concepts, especially in glaciology, seismology, volcanology, palaeontology and the relationship of society and geology. Earthquakes are unpredictable, and can happen at any time. earthquake, a damage scenario for the city of Messina as it is today, based on an earthquake with similar characteristics to that of the 1908 earthquake, has been carried out. The cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria were almost completely destroyed and between 75,000 and 82,000 lives were lost. Although a compilation of struct The ground shook for some 30 to 40 seconds, and the destruction was felt within a 300-kilometer (186-mile) radius. © 2021 Scientific American, a Division of Nature America, Inc. Support our award-winning coverage of advances in science & technology. In Messina, 91% of structures were destroyed and 70,000 ID: G3AJDC (RM) Reggio on the Italian mainland also suffered heavy damage. Collection of Lieutenant Commander Richard Wainwright, 1928. ; GO, C.N. No need to register, buy now! [11] Damage was heaviest in the old historic centre and the low, level central and northern sections of the city due to the soft sandy soil; it was less severe in the mountainous western part as the structures were built on firmer terrain such as Gonzaga Fort which was unscathed and remains to date. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. [11], In 2008 it was proposed that the concurrent tsunami was not generated by the earthquake, but rather by a large undersea landslide it triggered. ITALIAN Government Commissions have recently issued two valuable reports on the earthquakes of Calabria and Messina. The final objective of this study will be to verify whether Messina, one hundred years later, is … [10], A total of 293 aftershocks took place between 28 December 1908 and 11 March 1909. Possible tsunami signatures from an integrated study in the Augusta Bay offshore (Eastern Sicily-Italy). Field surveys were carried out in It was the most destructive earthquake ever to strike Europe. Damage was also inflicted along the eastern Sicilian coast, but outside of Messina, it was not as badly hit as Calabria. Huge crevasses and fissures opened in the streets and these as well as the mounds of rubble, and falling masonry, hampered those survivors who had fled from their razed homes to seek safety. Wilhelm von Gloeden - Wikipedia The town of Reggio and other parts of the province, as well as Messina and neighbouring parts of Sicily, were devastated by the 1908 Messina earthquake . Then he heard a "sinister whistling sound" which he likened to "a thousand red hot irons hissing in the water. Journal of Earthquake Engineering: Vol. The 1908 Messina earthquake (also known as the 1908 Messina and Reggio earthquake[4]) occurred on 28 December in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The ground continued to shake with repeated aftershocks causing remaining structures to topple down onto the ruins of demolished edifices killing and injuring rescuers and those who had survived the mainshock. [43] Similar scenes of destruction were replicated in Reggio Calabria. Journal of Earthquake … Due to the destruction caused by this earthquake, over 59,000 in the city of Messina were left homeless. The Messina-Reggio earthquake of 1908 caused significant damage to inhabitants and surrounding towns. Casualty toll is based on census data 1901-1911, some estimates are as high as 110,000. Over 40% of the population of Messina and more than 25% of Reggio di Calabria killed by the earthquake and tsunami, as well as by fires in some parts of Messina. The ground shook for some 30 to 40 seconds, and the destruction was felt within a 300-kilometer (186-mile) radius. [47] Many officers in the garrison survived, their accommodation being more substantial. LONDON, June 20.--A strong earthquake shook Messina and Reggio di Calabria about midnight Sunday, according to a Milan dispatch to The Daily Mail. The picture of the total damage was catastrophic: the estimated number of deaths is of around 80,000. With the exception of one mansion, all the structures in its principal thoroughfare Corso Garibaldi were destroyed including the Cathedral, municipal buildings and palazzi. Describing the damage in the city of Messina, Omori (1894) wrote: “The enormity of the destruction of Messina is really beyond one’s imagi-nation. [20] One week before the earthquake, 160,000 inhabitants were counted in the entire Messina commune. [citation needed] Catania, the largest city in eastern Sicily, did not incur notable damage. [12], On Monday 28 December 1908, from about 05:20 to 05:21, an earthquake of 7.1 on the moment magnitude scale occurred. The 1908 Messina Earthquake resulted in a large loss of life due to the collapse of unreinforced masonry buildings (URM), taking the lives of approximately 123,000 people, in the city of Messina alone. ; KIM, K.S. This analysis allows the macroseismic field to be reconstructed in a way more compatible with a modern scientific viewpoint, laying maximum importance on indications supplied by the MSK intensity scale. Reggio on the Italian mainland also suffered heavy damage. Processions of naked survivors carrying pictures of saints appeared in the streets. Damage in Messina and Reggio Calabria was exacerbated by the poor quality of construction and building materials, as well as by the occurrence of significant earthquakes during the preceding 15 years. Messina Kalos Luoghi di Sicilia. 10. Both cities were almost completely destroyed. 35, Issue 6, March 2008. [32] Former US vice-consul and Messina correspondent for the Associated Press Joseph Pierce and his family were crushed to death when their damaged home, close to the port, was brought down by the force of the waves created by the tsunami. Half of the population of Messina and a third of Reggio Calabria lost their lives. Subscribers get more award-winning coverage of advances in science & technology. Between it and the tsunami it caused, 123,000 lives were lost. Reggio Callabria on the Italian mainland also suffered heavy damage. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. A street in Messina, Sicily, showing damage caused by the earthquake that hit Dec. 28, 1908. [5] Its upper projection intersects the Earth surface on the western, Sicilian side of the Strait. [11], A young doctor who escaped with his life later recounted that "the profound silence was broken by an extraordinary noise like the bursting of a thousand bombs, followed by a rushing and torrential rain." Video. [7] The earthquake was recorded by 110 seismographic stations around the world. A total of 348 railway workers were killed when the two railway stations crumbled. EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE SCENARIOS AND SEISMIC HAZARD OF MESSINA, NORTH-EASTERN SICILY (ITALY) AS INFERRED FROM HISTORICAL DATA. On 10 December, a magnitude 4 earthquake caused damage to a few buildings in Novara di Sicilia and Montalbano Elicona, both in the Province of Messina. Location of historical earthquakes which have damaged the city of Messina … Richard Wainwright (who was assigned to USS Connecticut during the relief mission to Messina). A historical representation - a "Vue de l'Optique composition" (a hand-coloured copper engraving used in a Laterna magica) - shows ships on the Strait of Messina during a sequence of earthquakes in 1783 with more than 35.000 victims. U.S. Nat. Finally it is strange that the tsunami hit the shores 8 to 10 minutes after the quake, too late according to some researchers to be associated directly to the quake. U.S. In addition, he documented damage from the 1908 Messina earthquake, which may explain why the locals mostly approved of his work. In the early morning of December 28, 1908 a 30-42 seconds long earthquake with a reconstructed magnitude of 6.7-7.2 hit the Italian cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria.The earthquake damaged 90% of the buildings and broken pipes fuelled a terrible firestorm; however one of the most unusual effects of this earthquake was an 8 meter high tsunami. [56], When the reconstruction of Messina began from 1909, authorities mandated architecture able to withstand earthquakes of variable magnitude. Tsunamis in the Mediterranean Sea 2000 B.C.-2000 A.D. Many of the edifices had four or five storeys. [11][40] Families had become separated and a torrential downpour of rain that had begun only minutes before the earthquake added to the confusion, impeding visibility along with the darkness and thick clouds of dust. The destruction was felt within a 300-kilometer radius. The study, led by Dr. Marco Meschis, identified the fault as the previously mapped but little studied Messina-Taormina Fault which lies off the Sicilian coast and runs the length of the Strait of Messina. The earthquake damaged 90% of the buildings and broken pipes fuelled a firestorm, an aftereffect known from many other earthquakes; however one of the most unusual effects of this earthquake was an 8 meter high tsunami which killed almost 2.000 people. This causes vertical displacement, which in turn can cause earthquakes. (2005). Its epicentre was in the Strait of Messina which separates the busy port city of Messina in Sicily and Reggio Calabria on the Italian mainland. Also no prominent fault or escarpment was until today discovered in the Strait of Messina or along the coasts of Sicily. Select from premium Earthquake Of Messina of the highest quality. And are not necessarily those of Scientific American the number of deaths is of around km! 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