THE WORLD'S MOST CRUEL EARTHQUAKE 



395 



PIAZZA MUNICIPAL,^ SHOWING BUCKLING OF" GRANITE) BLOCKS CAUSED BY THE 



SEISMIC WAVE 

 The city post office is in the background 



by the direction of the throw at the time 

 of the earthquake. Most of the towers 

 and chimneys in and about Messina were 

 thrown to the southeast, while in the 

 vicinity of Reggio towers were thrown 

 locally to the north, though on this side 

 of the straits the general direction of the 

 throw was poorly expressed by the struc- 

 tures. 



Imagine now local landslides, largely 

 submarine, occurring each side of the 

 straits practically at the same instant ; 

 this alone would be sufficient to make 

 the sea recede and cause the tidal wave 

 which followed the earthquake. Theories 

 attributing it to changes in depth of the 

 bottom of the straits must be proven by 

 soundings, and it is doubtful if any per- 

 ceptible change will be found. 



The answers to the questions whether 

 the region may now look for respite or 

 whether it is becoming unfit for human 

 habitation can only be based upon care- 

 ful consideration of the causes of earth- 

 quakes and the history of past earth- 

 quakes in this vicinity. That there will 

 be future disasters of this character here 

 is most probable, though it is hoped that 

 the present movement inaugurates a long 

 era of comparative repose. 



It is gratifying to know that present 

 studies in seismology are in the direction 

 toward the prediction of place and time 

 of both earthquakes and volcanic erup- 

 tions. The malloseismic areas are being- 

 outlined, the underlying formations are 

 being studied in detail, past records care- 

 fully considered, and thus tracts of special 



s 



