THE EARTHQUAKE IN THE MAHSICA, CEKTRAL ITALY.* 



By Ernesto Mancini, 

 Secretary of the Royal Academy of the Lincei. 



[With 1 plate.] 



On the 13th of January, 1915, at 53 minutes past 7 in the morning, 

 a terrible earthquake devastated the Marsica, a rich and flourishing 



region of Italy, in 

 the southern part 

 of the Aquilian 

 Abruzzi and the 

 neighboring lo- 

 calities, the Val- 

 leys of the Salto, 

 of the Latiura, and 

 of the Lh-i. The 

 disaster had terri- 

 ble consequences ; 

 it caused the de- 

 struction of a num- 

 ber of small cities, 

 market towns, and 

 villages, and the 

 death of a great 

 number of people. 

 The extent of the 

 cataclysm and un- 

 favorable weather 

 conditions with 

 heavy rain and snow, rendered aid laborious and difficult. 



For some weeks the scientific observations made concerning the de- 

 tails of the terrible phenomenon have been collected, coordinated, 

 and discussed. As a result of the preliminary observations of several 

 scientists of the Meteorological and Geodynamical Bureau of Rome, 

 of w^hich Prof. Palazzo is the director, the following notice was pre- 

 pared : 



Fig. 1.— Zone of masimum intensity of the earthquake of Jan. 13, 1915. 



^ Translated by permission from the Revue g€n6rale des Sciences, Mar. 15, 1915. 



215 



