We are constantly reminded of the Power of Nature, with Hurricanes, Tornados, Floods, Landslides, Volcanos, Earthquakes and Tsunamis, among others.

With this current Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami, we might be reminded of the Eruption of Krakatoa, also in Sumatra in 1883, created waves as high as 120 ft, that drowned 36,417, released thermal energy of about 150 ­175 megatons of TNT,
or the equivalent of about 7,500 ­ 8,750 Hiroshima atomic bombs (the Hiroshima bomb released about 20 kilotons of thermal energy), and was felt around the world, affecting the climate for 5 years.

Those of us who have ties to the Mediterranean, realize that Greece and Turkey are at great Earthquake risk because their positioning at the intersection of the Eurasian,  Anatolian, African, and Arabian Plates. Therefore we would not be suprised to learn that of a total of 613 known historic earthquakes, at least 41 occurred in the East Mediterranean, with the best known, the Santorin/Aegean of 1490 B.C.

But, Italy has a long history of seismic catastrophes, with more than 400 destructive earthquakes documented during the last 2,000 years, almost half those in Europe, Italy therefor acquired a reputation as being one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.

The greatest in Italy and Europe was the Messina/ Calabria Earthquake/Tsunami of 1908, that killed up to 200,000 Italians!!! *

I remembered that The Messina Earthquake was dealt with in "Under the Southern Sun, Stories of the Real Italy and the Americans it Created"
by Paul Paolicelli, copyright, 2003 Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press

Mr. Paolicelli, has graciously granted me permission to excerpt and reprint:
From Chapter 8      The Quake and the Madonna

     "Reggio was certainly no stranger to disaster. The city, and the entire Straight of Messina, sits on the fault line, the convergence of plates where Africa and Europe come together. This land has been besieged by earthquakes and tidal waves since it was formed. But none was worse than the quake and subsequent tsunami which occurred at 5:30 in the morning on December 28, 1908.

     I saw Reggio for the first time 83 years after that quake, but there are still signs and reminders of the tragedy almost everywhere. Every date on every building relates, somehow, to 1908.

      At least 100,000 people (RAA: Actually closer to 200,00) died that morning in the deadliest natural disaster in European history. The quake in San Francisco two years before had destroyed most of the city, but the highest fatality estimate was placed at 700, a tragic number, indeed, but significantly lower than the Italian quake two years later.

       The majority of the deaths were across the Straight in Messina, the larger of the two cities. But both cities and every town and village throughout the area on Sicily and all through Southern Calabria were devastated. The after effects of the quake were felt as far away as Washington, D.C.

       In one of the few positive stories of the House of Savoy in Southern Italy, the young King Vittorio Emanuele III, then 39 years old, and his wife traveled to Reggio in the first week after the tragedy, placing themselves at risk. Just as in September of 2001 (9/11), the entire civilized world was both shocked and sickened by the event, and volunteer relief efforts came from near and far.

     It was, by every criterion, an extraordinary catastrophe; thousands were buried alive under rubble; all transportation and shipping was severely hampered by destroyed roads, rails and docks; medical supplies and food were scarce and nearly impossible to distribute; dead human and animal bodies polluted the water supply and threatened the health of every surviving person; the region was left in crushing poverty and with serious health concerns for several years afterward.

     Every Calabrian family has some memory or story about that quake.

     My own family was no exception.

     My Uncle Dominic Falduto was from Trunca, a tiny spot on the map just outside of Reggio in the steep mountains to the north of town. He was fourteen years old that morning. He was still in bed when he was aroused by his mother just before dawn, calling anxiously to him and the others.

     According to Uncle Dom, his mother said the Blessed Virgin had come to her in a dream and told her to awaken the family and get them out of the house. She managed to get all but one child outside before the quake hit. The daughter who remained indoors was killed, crushed in the rubble of collapsed ceilings and walls. Miraculously, everyone else—five children and both parents—survived the quake and its terrible aftermath.

     Only one part of the house remained after the quake, a section of the bedroom wall that had stood behind his parent’s bed. Uncle Dom said the portrait of the Blessed Mother remained on that wall fragment, hanging serenely as if nothing had happened. Until his death many years later, Uncle Dom had a special reverence for the Madonna, a picture of whom now hangs next to his crypt.

Dances With Luigi, Under the Southern Sun  www.paul paolicelli.com

Some Notable Earthquakes in History

Earthquakes from early history through 1908.
Focusing on those in Italy. Can be Incomplete.
1490 B.C..Santorin Earthquake in Aegean Sea
79 A.D.  Earthquake accompanied by the eruption of Vesuvius; the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum buried.
1137 A.D. Catania, in Sicily, overturned by earthquake, and 15,000 persons buried in the ruins.
1186 A.D. Earthquake at Calabria; one of its cities and all its inhabitants overwhelmed in the Adriatic Sea.
1456 A.D.  Earthquake at Naples; 40,000 persons perishe.
1638 A.D.  Awful earthquake at Calabria.[One of Italy's most Famous]
1693 A.D. Earthquake in Sicily, which overturned fifty-four cities and towns, and 300 villages. Of Catania and its 18,000 inhabitants not a trace remained; killing an estimated 60,000 in Catania, Sicily, and 93,000 in Naples.
1726 A.D.   Palermo nearly destroyed by earthquake; 6,000 lives lost.
1740 A.D.  Earthquake at Palermo, which swallowed up a convent; but the monks escaped.
1783 A.D.  Messina and other towns in Italy and Sicily overthrown by earthquake; 50,000 persons perished.
1789 A.D. Earthquake at Borgo di San Sepolero, Tuscany;many houses and 1,000 persons swallowed up.
1791 A.D.  Another fatal earthquake in Sicily.
1794 A.D.  Earthquake in Naples; Vesuvius overwhelmed the city of Torre del Greco.
1805 A.D.  Earthquake at Frosolone, Naples; 6,000 lives lost.
1819 A.D. Genoa, Palermo, Rome, and many other towns greatly damaged by earthquake; thousands perish.
1826 A.D.  Earthquake in Calabria and Sicily.
1834 A.D.  Earthquake in the Duchy of Parma; no less than forty shocks were experienced at Borgotaro; and at Pontremoli many houses were thrown down, and not a chimney was left standing.
1835 A.D. Earthquake in Calabria, Cosenza and villages destroyed; 1,000 persons buried.
1836 A.D.Earthquake in Calabria; 1,000 buried at Rossano, etc
1851 A.D. Earthquake in South Italy; Melfi almost laid in ruins; 14,000 lives lost.
1857 A.D. Earthquake in Calabria, Montemurro and many other towns destroyed, and about 22,000 lives lost in a few seconds.
1861 A.D.  Earthquake at Perugia, Italy; several lives lost
1865 A.D. Earthquake at Macchia. Bendinella, etc., Sicily; 200 houses destroyed, sixty-four persons killed.
1884 A.D.  Earthquake on Island of Ischia.
1887 A.D. Earthquake in Mentone and the Riviera of Italy.
1905 - An earthquake obliterates 25 villages in the Calabria region, 5,000 die.
1908 A.D. Sicily and Calabria. Great earthquake resulting in the destruction of Messina, Reggio, and many smaller towns and villages, including upward of 200,000 lives.
1915 A.D. - An earthquake on 13 January shakes southern Italy. The town of Avezzano at its epicentre is completely destroyed. The death toll is estimated to be at least 30,000.
1976 A.D. - An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale rocks Friuli in northeastern Italy, killing 976 people and leaving 70,000 others homeless.
1980 A.D.  - 2,735 people are killed and more than 7,500 injured in a quake measuring at least 6.9 on the Richter scale. The epicentre is at Eboli, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Naples, and damage is widespread. More than 1,500 people are reported missing.
1997 A.D. - More than 40,000 people lose their homes and 13 die in a series of earthquakes in September. Four of the victims are killed as the roof of the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi collapses. Priceless frescoes are also damaged

Earthquakes
http://www.sacklunch.net/earthquake/index.html

Italy's earthquake history
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2381585.stm