1908 messina earthquake, italy
The 1908 Messina earthquake was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake and is considered to be the deadliest earthquake in the history of Europe and is one of the most highly rated earthquakes (in terms of destruction) ever recorded. Occurring in the early morning of December 28 and lasting for approximately 30 seconds, the earthquake was strongly felt throughout Sicily and the Calabria region of southern Italy. Ground shaking was additionally felt to the north, in Naples and Campobasso on the Italian mainland, as well as on the island of Malta (south of Sicily). Moments after the earthquake, a 12-meter tsunami struck nearby coasts, causing even more devastation; 91% of structures in Messina were destroyed in these two disasters.
This photo gives us a very slight idea of the amount of damage caused by this earthquake alone, from this alone we can see that most of Messina's infrastructure has been turned into nothing but a pile of rubble and debris.
Italy has a lengthy history of catastrophic earthquakes and is one of the most earthquake-prone areas in Europe. During that last 2,000 years, more than 400 destructive earthquakes have been documented in Italy and seismic activity varies considerably across the country due to the complex tectonics of the region. This earthquake was mainly caused by normal faulting in the Straits of Messina. Italy sits on top of the plate boundary of the African Continental plate. This plate is pushing against the seafloor underneath Italy (and most of Europe) at a rate of about 1 inch per year. This causes vertical displacement which can often be the root cause of earthquakes.
Social Impacts
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. Due to the destruction caused by this earthquake, over 59,000 in the city of Messina were left homeless. Evacuation centres were almost certain to be full, this meant that they either had to relocate or live in other people's houses for a while. Houses that were not turned into rubble often had no electricity. The dust and debris from the destroyed buildings engulfed the city, suffocating hundreds of vulnerable people in the streets seeking shelter.
Economic Impacts
With many residents unable to pay for major repair work following an earthquake, they would be obliged to
depend upon government assistance. The low insurance rates among commercial and industrial risks (an
estimated 30%) also means that local businesses could be exposed to direct financial losses, potentially
becoming unable to function. Where it is available, the overwhelming majority of insured properties are facing commercial or industrial risks. As a consequence, very few homes in Italy would have adequate insurance to cover losses in the event of a major earthquake. Local jobs were lost, lengthening the impact on the local economy and hindering the ability of Messina to quickly recover. The insurance industry can provide the loss-adjusting capability and the efficiency needed to accelerate the reconstruction needed and restore a community’s livelihood.
Although there is no exact amount of the repair costs, most researchers believe it to be around 60 Million Euros ($86,342,700 USD, $98,310,000 NZD) Considering this earthquake occured in 1908, 60 million Euros is a hefty amount. Rather than going into the development of their city and/or country, Italian government has had to spend this amount on repairing a rather small town. This greatly delayed whatever plans they had concerning the growth of their city/country.
Environmental Impacts
The worst hit areas were Messina, on the northeast Sicilian coast, and Reggio di Calabria, in the province of Calabria on the Italian mainland. From all accounts, both cities were completely destroyed and reduced to rubble. Ground shaking was so intense in the port area of Messina that the stone paving was permanently displaced in a wave-like pattern . Describing the damage in the city of Messina, a Japanese seismologist by the name of Fusakichi Omori (1909) wrote: ―"The enormity of the destruction of Messina is really beyond one’s imagination. All the buildings in the city were, with a very few exceptions, considerably cracked or absolutely reduced to masses of ruin...."
The permanent ground deformation caused by the earthquake was recorded by a geodetic survey. A survey had
been completed just a few months before the earthquake and the measurements were repeated immediately after the event to capture the vertical displacement produced by the earthquake. In Messina, subsidence of the ground was measured up to 28 in (70 cm). Fires were also observed in some parts of Messina following the earthquake, which added to the devastation. Around ninety percent of buildings in Messina were destroyed, with the worst damage in the central and northern parts of the city, this is due to the fact that most of these buildings were built on soft soils. Streets throughout the whole city were completely inaccessible to all people as it was covered by rubble and debris climbing up to 5 metres high.
In what ways do MEDCs suffer from earthquakes?
In modern day society, MEDCs can often withstand most earthquakes, unless they are truly devastating. Rich countries (eg, Canada, US, western Europe) use steel-framed or wood-framed buildings that are designed to withstand seismic events. LEDC's and a few MEDC's use stone and concrete buildings with minimal framework; they simply collapse during a seismic event. Communication systems are usually developed in MEDCs, which means that their general population is well educated about what to do during a tectonic hazard. MEDCs are also wealthy which means that they can easily execute evacuations because of their available resources. Also, MEDCs usually have a well set out plan of what to do during an earthquake. Evacuation centres, hospitals, rescue services, engineers, etc, are all aware of their roles if an earthquake is to occur.
Social Impacts
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. Due to the destruction caused by this earthquake, over 59,000 in the city of Messina were left homeless. Evacuation centres were almost certain to be full, this meant that they either had to relocate or live in other people's houses for a while. Houses that were not turned into rubble often had no electricity. The dust and debris from the destroyed buildings engulfed the city, suffocating hundreds of vulnerable people in the streets seeking shelter.
Economic Impacts
With many residents unable to pay for major repair work following an earthquake, they would be obliged to
depend upon government assistance. The low insurance rates among commercial and industrial risks (an
estimated 30%) also means that local businesses could be exposed to direct financial losses, potentially
becoming unable to function. Where it is available, the overwhelming majority of insured properties are facing commercial or industrial risks. As a consequence, very few homes in Italy would have adequate insurance to cover losses in the event of a major earthquake. Local jobs were lost, lengthening the impact on the local economy and hindering the ability of Messina to quickly recover. The insurance industry can provide the loss-adjusting capability and the efficiency needed to accelerate the reconstruction needed and restore a community’s livelihood.
Although there is no exact amount of the repair costs, most researchers believe it to be around 60 Million Euros ($86,342,700 USD, $98,310,000 NZD) Considering this earthquake occured in 1908, 60 million Euros is a hefty amount. Rather than going into the development of their city and/or country, Italian government has had to spend this amount on repairing a rather small town. This greatly delayed whatever plans they had concerning the growth of their city/country.
Environmental Impacts
The worst hit areas were Messina, on the northeast Sicilian coast, and Reggio di Calabria, in the province of Calabria on the Italian mainland. From all accounts, both cities were completely destroyed and reduced to rubble. Ground shaking was so intense in the port area of Messina that the stone paving was permanently displaced in a wave-like pattern . Describing the damage in the city of Messina, a Japanese seismologist by the name of Fusakichi Omori (1909) wrote: ―"The enormity of the destruction of Messina is really beyond one’s imagination. All the buildings in the city were, with a very few exceptions, considerably cracked or absolutely reduced to masses of ruin...."
The permanent ground deformation caused by the earthquake was recorded by a geodetic survey. A survey had
been completed just a few months before the earthquake and the measurements were repeated immediately after the event to capture the vertical displacement produced by the earthquake. In Messina, subsidence of the ground was measured up to 28 in (70 cm). Fires were also observed in some parts of Messina following the earthquake, which added to the devastation. Around ninety percent of buildings in Messina were destroyed, with the worst damage in the central and northern parts of the city, this is due to the fact that most of these buildings were built on soft soils. Streets throughout the whole city were completely inaccessible to all people as it was covered by rubble and debris climbing up to 5 metres high.
In what ways do MEDCs suffer from earthquakes?
In modern day society, MEDCs can often withstand most earthquakes, unless they are truly devastating. Rich countries (eg, Canada, US, western Europe) use steel-framed or wood-framed buildings that are designed to withstand seismic events. LEDC's and a few MEDC's use stone and concrete buildings with minimal framework; they simply collapse during a seismic event. Communication systems are usually developed in MEDCs, which means that their general population is well educated about what to do during a tectonic hazard. MEDCs are also wealthy which means that they can easily execute evacuations because of their available resources. Also, MEDCs usually have a well set out plan of what to do during an earthquake. Evacuation centres, hospitals, rescue services, engineers, etc, are all aware of their roles if an earthquake is to occur.