Natural Disasters of the 20th Century

Earthquakes and Volcanic Disturbances

Aug 21, 2008

The twentieth century saw some of the most violent earthquakes and destructive volcanic eruptions.

They can strike with little or no warning, and leave nothing but destruction in their wake. Throughout history humans have always been at the mercy of Mother Nature. Over the past century the ground has rumbled with terrifying ferocity, and dormant earthquakes have awakened with explosions loud enough to be heard hundreds of miles away.

This article takes a closer look at some of the more devastating occurrences that have taken place between 1900 and 1999.

Earthquakes

At this point in its history the city of San Francisco had a population of about 400,000 people. When the first jolt was felt around the Bay Area, it was followed by severe shaking some 25 seconds later which was also punctuated by violent shocks. Fires were burning everywhere after the quake subsided and lasted for three days, and were caused mostly by damaged electrical wiring, broken gas mains and overturned stoves. 3,000 people died, 225,000 people were homeless and according to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) the property damage totaled a whopping $400,000,000 (1906 dollars).

Officially called the worst earthquake to hit China in the 20th century, it measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and laid waste to Tangshan which at that time had one million people. Although it lasted for approximately fifteen seconds, the resulting death toll was horrific. 248,000 perished, and more than 160,000 were injured. Most of the residents lived in one-storey brick structures with solid concrete roofs which collapsed instantly, killing thousands. Almost all of them were sleeping and didn't have time to take cover. The Chinese government refused foreign aid and barred any foreign journalists from entering Tangshan until 1983.

Volcanoes

On the northern side of this Caribbean island Mt. Pelée had been rumbling ominously since April 23rd and over the next few days the residents began to panic and attempted to leave St. Pierre. This was a small but prosperous colonial city at the base of the volcano. In a cruel twist of fate, an election was scheduled for May 11th and the Governor Louis Mouttet convinced the editor of the daily newspaper Les Colonies to assure residents that in fact there was nothing to worry about. When the volcano erupted a huge black cloud consisting of superheated gas, ash and rock headed down a v-shaped notch along the south side of the mountain at 100 miles per hour, in effect making St. Pierre a target on the end of a gun sight. The cloud advanced all the way to the harbour and destroyed at least twenty ships anchored offshore. 28,000 people perished from the searing temperatures and the ash from the pyroclastic flow (an avalanche of hot gas, pumice and rock fragments). Only two people in St. Pierre were known to have survived this disaster.

On this pleasant Sunday morning, an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale triggered the eruption of Mt. St. Helens which before that day had been dormant for more than a century. Raging hot gases and small fragments of the mountain blasted in a northerly direction, and swept along the ground at 300 miles per hour. Douglas fir trees, some of them 200 feet high, were stripped of their bark and snapped like toothpicks. Compared to other eruptions the death toll was relatively light with 57 fatalities. However, thousands of elk, deer and bears perished and the damage to highways, private homes and railways was more than one billion dollars. Washington Governor Dixy Lee Ray flew over Mt. St. Helens on May 20th, and on her return stated, "I feel like I've just come back from the moon."

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