NEWS - The Worst Disaster of Its Kind. This earthquake was felt over a wide area, but the solution dispersed in the country, probably would have caused great havoc. Many people think that a strong earthquake is a shaking or violent lurch of the earth's surface, but these movements when they occur, are only incidental. The essential characteristic of an earthquake is a series of quick vibrations in elastic rocks of the crust, caused by a sudden jar, which occurs as a rule, several kilometers underground.
The bottle is due to breakage or slippage of the rocks under heavy strain. There are several possible causes for these strains and has been much controversy among geologists as to which of them predominates. One fairly obvious reason is the transfer of material from one place to another on land and from land to sea through the process of erosion and sedimentation. The point at the depths of the earth where the earthquake originates is called the "focus", and the place or area where the earth's surface directly above the focus is called the "epicenter".
The latter is also where the strongest shocks are felt. An earthquake begins with a typical low-noise sound that gradually becomes more intense, and sometimes mixed with strong shocks, explosives. The first tremors were felt shortly after beginning sounds. They are like those experienced during the passage of a heavy train or car, and occur at a rate of four or five seconds. These preliminary tremors are merged into the main shock of the earthquake, occurring at a rate of only two or three seconds, sometimes every one lasts longer than a second. Then comes another series of less violent tremors and faster, getting lost in a slight tremor movement. The duration of these events varies from a few seconds to three or four minutes.
