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EarthquakesApril 25, 2015: A 7.9 earthquake resulted from movements in the Indus-Yarlung fault, where India pushes up the Himalayas. It did great damage in and around Kathmandu, Nepal. In fact the whole city shifted 3 metres. Ancient temples and monuments crumbled, and a massive avalanche struck base camp on Mount Everest. As of two days later, the death toll already surpasses 5,000, and aftershocks continue to occur, notably in Gorkha region. Devastation such as this has not been experienced since the 1934 earthquake. March 2011: A "tremblor" earthquake measuring 8.9 struck Japan. It actually affected the earth's inclination. Loss of life there surpassed 10,000, much of it due to a tsunami. In Fukushima, 3 nuclear reactors sustained damage.
January 12, 2010, the worst earthquake in Haiti in 200 years, 7.0 in magnitude, struck near the Caribbean capital city, Port-au-Prince. Loss of life continued months later, due to a cholera epidemic. In Spring 2008, the region where the Indian sub-continent pushes into Asia was again subject to a terrible earthquake. It affected Chamdo in Sichuan province, the western Chinese region that incorporates the Kham region of Tibet. The dire conditions were aggravated by the flooding that followed, as rivers blocked by debris, overflowed. In 2005, at the western end of the Himalayan chain, Jammu-Kashmir was struck. Survivors suffered starvation in some inaccessible areas and that, during very cold weather. A year earlier, October 24th, 2004, a Richter scale 6.8 quake shook Ojiya, Japan, the deadliest since the 7.3R Kobe tremor of January 1995 that killed over 6,000. One year earlier to the day of the 2004 tsunami disaster, an earthquake rocked the Iranian city of Bam during freezing temperatures. In January 2001, a great earthquake (7.9) occurred near Bhuj in northwest India. A "grinder that kept on turning," its effects were felt as far east as Nepal and Bangladesh. Well over ten thousand people died. That quake had been predicted by Tibet's Nechung Oracle. Taiwan suffered a major earthquake on September 21, 1999, so in April 2001, when the Dalai Lama visited, he was asked for a ceremony to discourage earthquakes:
The aftershocks of a quake can cause further destruction, and also prevent people from returning to a semblance of normalcy for some time. Then, large numbers of corpses lying among the ruins can lead to epidemics. TsunamiOn December 26th 2004, there was a deep sea earthquake measuring Richter-scale 9.0 that was centred 240 km. off the coast of Sumatra. It lasted for 10 minutes, and was so powerful it slowed the earth's rotation. It produced a tsunami (Jap. "harbour wave") the height of a three-storey building that struck the shores of 11 countries. People living or visiting near the Indian Ocean were washed away and/or injured by debris. As of Jan. 19th, 2005, the death toll was 220,000 people. As a result of the flooding and destruction, millions were left homeless or without resources such as food and safe drinking water. When it reached eastern North America eight hours later, the wave was still detectible. Although there is an early warning system for the Pacific rim, no wave sensors had been established in the Indian Ocean. Also, none of the regional civil authorities were "in the loop" for receiving such alerts.
Animal ExplanationsIn Indian lands, a
many-headed serpent or naga is considered to balance the earth on one of its
heads. When he shifts the weight of the world from one to another, it can
result in
tremors. Other Asian traditions hold that the earth is placed on the back of a giant frog, fish or tortoise. Jishin-Musho a beetle, or Jishin-Uwo the eel or giant catfish, whose name is Namazu, live under Japan. When they move around, so do the islands above. A stone in the temple of Kashima is the exposed part of the sword used by a hero of the gods to pin Namazu down. DeitiesIn may societies, an earthquake is interpreted as a consequence of the wrongdoings of human beings. It is seen as a visitation of the wrath of the Deity or deities. It may be seen as a result of humanity's reluctance, or its inability, to live in harmony with Nature, the Road of Harmony or the Way of Beauty or Truth - what is referred to in Hinduism as Dharma. The earthquake has been thought of as a punishment for wrongdoing. Earthquakes are also associated with great positive spiritual transformations. For example, the place where Buddha Shakyamuni sat in his determination to achieve enlightenment was said to have shaken to its very foundation. The moment Chenresi manifested as Mahakala, it is said that there were six kinds of earthquake experienced in all realms. Green Tara the Liberator, in more than one stanza of the 21 Praises, is described as stamping the earth, shaking mountains and trampling worlds with her cry of Hung! Shesha and the Iron PinThe name Dhilli or Delhi is said to derive from a word meaning loose. In the old part of Delhi, India is found the
Iron
Pillar in a courtyard not far from the Qutab Minar (minaret of
Quwwat-ul-Islam). Some say it is 2300 years old. The intention was to permanently affix the head of Vasuki (also called Ananta or Shesha) whose head serves as the foundation of the earth. When every now and then Shesha needs to rest from the pressure and strain, he stretches his neck and transfers the weight to one of his other heads. This movement was believed to be the origin of earthquakes, tidal waves but also of political upheavals. When the ruler of Delhi was concerned for the future of his dynasty, he
consulted the various pandits and prophets of his time who advised him that if
he could constrain the naga's movements, he would be able to ensure the future
of his reign. When it was installed it is said that there was an actual tremor.
Classical MythologyThe Greek god Poseidon 's name means "husband or lord of earth" though he is the deity who is ruler of the seas, as well as being associated with the horse. His activities give rise to earthquakes. Engeladus is a more ancient deity - a chthonic god of earthquakes dwelling half in the sea and half in dry land. Zeus, ruler of the Olympian Gods, ordered the Giants to conquer him but in spite of their mass and the strength of their bodies, they failed. However, Athena, goddess of wisdom, succeeded through the use of her wisdom, but especially, her flexibility. She casts Sicily upon Engeladus to subdue him. Similarly, the Romans ascribed earthquakes to the restlessness of the giants whom Jupiter buried under high mountains. Northern EuropeanIn Norse/Teutonic mythology, at the root of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, is the serpent Nidhog gnawing at its roots which makes its stability uncertain. Hodur [Hoed] the ogress, is a disguise for the Trickster, Loki, murderer of Baldur [Baldr, Balder] the Good. Loki is finally confined to the underworld where his fetters will be loosened at the time of the Final Conflict or Ragnarok by a tremendous earthquake when he will then have to confront Baldur's avenging brother, Vali. AmericasKisin or Kizin (also Cisin) 'the Stinker' is the Mayan and also Aztec, god of the underworld and earthquakes. Existing codices show Kizin uprooting or destroying trees planted by Chac, the rain god. In his realm beneath the earth souls, except those of soldiers killed in battle and women who died in childbirth, spend some time. Suicides are doomed there for eternity. He is often depicted on pottery and in codices as a dancing skeleton holding a smoking cigarette. He may also be identified by his death collar from which disembodied eyes dangle by their nerves. The people of Mexico also believed that the sun god, Tonatiuh was related to earthquake activity. In a depiction of him as the Divine Eagle, we see him diving below the horizon, surrounded by skulls in the dark underworld which is his home each night. While his face has a sacrificial knife for a tongue, some depictions show him with an earthquake symbol on his back. The Mexica believed that the present world would end in earthquakes with the sun destroyed. PolynesiaNgendei is the creator, and head of all the original gods of Fiji and the supporter of the world. He is described as half snake and half rock. Every time he moves there is an earthquake. Ngendei is also god of the harvest and king of the land of the dead. ScienceIn 136 CE, Chinese scholar Chang Hing, built a kind of seismoscope, a device which could determine the direction of origin of an earthquake. This was a large urn with marbles around the rim, and when the earthquake tremors shook the urn, one of the marbles fell out. By noting which one, the observer could determine the direction of the quake. Earthquakes are vibrations produced in the earth's crust. When the plates that make up the earth's 'flesh' move, great forces are exerted on the rocks of the crust or 'skin'. As the limits of tension are approached, or extension or compression has been increasing, ruptures and rebounds occur. Vibrations ranging from the barely noticeable to the catastrophic occur
as rocks in the crust reach their limit. They break and faults form in the
crust -- huge cracks at or below the surface. Waves are further differentiated by their effect upon rock particles. Primary or compression waves (P waves) send particles oscillating back and forth in the same direction as the waves. Secondary or transverse shear waves (S waves) impart vibrations perpendicular to the direction of travel. P waves travel faster than S waves, so whenever there is an earthquake P waves are the first to arrive and to be recorded at the geophysical research stations situated all around the globe. The Richter scale rates quakes according to strength or magnitude of tremors
going from 1 to 10 in increasing magnitude. Each 1 unit on the scale
indicates an increase of about 30 times the energy released. (The
Mercalli scale rates earthquakes according to the severity of the effect on the
populace and structures.) The Tibetan plateau is riven with geological faults so that earthquakes are a concern which is why, to increase stability traditional buildings in Tibet were made narrower at the top than at the base.
An earthquake, among other things!
End of TimeLike the Greeks, and the Hindus and Buddhists too, many other cultures such as that of the Incas (Peru) also had a belief that the current era is only one of several. The Aztecs (Mexico and Central America) of the Toltec period had four mythological eras. The first was that of the Water Sun, destroyed by flood. The second was the era of the Earth Sun which was destroyed by earthquake. (The Wind Sun age met destruction at the hands of a giant, but Quetzalcóatl, the feathered serpent, remained to prophesy and bring civilization to the people although the current age of the Sun of Fire inevitably will end in conflagration.) This view of time as a series of cycles rather than as an infinite but straight line is not a Judeo-Christian or Biblical one. The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, among others, and the New Testament contributors speak instead of an end-time. One of the several indications of its approach is a great shaking of the earth. Northern EuropeCursed by Odin for having tried to kill him, Loki left the company of the gods in great haste. Despite the fact that he hid, disguised as a salmon in the Franangr waterfall, they caught him. Then they hobbled him with the guts of his own son, Nari, but his other son, Narfi became Fenrir the wolf. Then Skadhi took a venomous serpent and hung it above Loki's face so that its poison dripped on him, but Loki's wife Sigyn kept holding out a bowl to collect the poison. Whenever she carried it away to empty it, some drops fell on Loki. Then he writhed so fearfully that all the earth shook, and nowadays men call this "earthquakes." ~ Lokasenna or "Hobbling Loki."
Helping Out
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