•572 Reviews— The Calahro- Sicilian Earthquake. 



(3) P. Tacchini, " Terremoto calabro-messinese del 16 novembre, 



1894 " : ibid., vol. iii (1894), pp. 275-277. 



(4) P. Tacchini, " Sulla registrazione a Eoma del terremoto calabro- 



messinese del 16 novembre, 1894": ibid., vol. iii (1894), 

 pp. 365-367. 



(5) Boll. Meteor, dell' Uff. Centr. di Meteorologia e Geodinamica, 



Supplemento 113. 



Shortly after its occurrence, a Government Commission was 

 appointed to study the disastrous earthquake of November 16, 1894, 

 in Sicily and Southern Italy. The work was divided into sections, 

 the seismological part being undertaken by Prof. A. Ricco, the 

 director of the observatory of Catania. Prof. G. Mercalli has also 

 completed a valuable memoir on the seismic history of the district, 

 the final chapter being devoted to the earthquake series of 1894. 



Both the writers mentioned furnish maps of the isoseismal lines, 

 Prof. Ricco making use of the Rossi-Forel scale of intensity and 

 Prof. Mercalli of that which bears his name. In the central portion 

 of the disturbed area, the two series of lines agree fairly closely, 

 but they differ somewhat as regards those of lower intensity. 

 Discrepancies in the latter are, however, to be expected on account 

 of the small number of observations collected and the large portion 

 of the area occupied by the sea. 



The epicentral district, which overlaps that of the great Calabrian 

 earthquake of February 5-6, 1783, lies about twenty miles north-east 

 of Eeggio Calabria. To the west and north-west, there is a notable 

 expansion of the isoseismal lines ; but in the opposite direction they 

 are closely grouped, showing that the intensity of the shock died 

 out rapidly in crossing the crystalline masses of Aspromonte and 

 towards the Ionian Sea. The outermost isoseismal, according to 

 Prof. Eicco, includes an area of 43,890 square miles. 



The damage to property was confined to an area of 3,540 square 

 miles in the provinces of Eeggio Calabria and Messina ; more 

 than three-fourths occurring in the former province, where it was 

 estimated to amount to about a million pounds. It was due chiefly 

 ■to the very poor materials employed, the insufficient foundations, the 

 imperfect connection between the different parts of the building, and 

 the exceedingly heavy roofs. Altogether, 922 houses were completely 

 ruined, and 44,493 more or less seriously injured; about a hundred 

 people were killed and nearl}'^ one thousand wounded. 



In nearly all parts of the disturbed area, the shock consisted of 

 two distinct series of vibrations ; the first and weaker series being 

 separated from the other by an interval of rest lasting two or three 

 seconds. Within and near the epicentral district, the concluding 

 vibrations were vorticose, being subject to rapid changes of direction. 

 Both Etna and Stromboli were strongly shaken, but neither showed 

 any sign of increased volcanic action. A puteometer at Catania 

 (70 miles from the epicentre) indicated an abrupt rise in the water 

 ■of 17 mm., followed by a fall of 14 mm., after which it returned 





