EARTHQUAKES IN 1881.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3485, 7 September 1882, Page 4

EARTHQUAKES IN 1881.

In Herr Fuchs' report on this subject in Der Naturforscher ifc ia stated that 244 earthquakes aro at present known to have occurred, of which eighty-six were in winter, sixty-one in autumn, fiffcy-six in spring, and forty-one in summer. The earthquake period at Agram, beginning in November, 1880, extended into 1881 ; in which earth vibrations were observed on twenty-four days, many of the shocks being very violent {e.g. on February Ist, and at St. Ivan Zelina, from May 20th to June Ist). The neighboring regions, Dalmatia and Herzegovina, were frequently affected from this source, also by violent shocks, which occurred in the Ci'oatian Mountains. Among the great earthquakes of 1881 that of Chios takes the first place. The tremendous first shock in the afternoon of April 3rd laid most of the town of Castro in ruins. This earthquake, lasting six days in full strength (with thirty to forty very violent shocks), was felfc most in the south part; of the island. On the mainland, the port of Tschesme was half destroyed. In Chios, 4181 persona were killed, and about 1000 injured. From April 10th, the phenomena gradually abated ; bufc strong shocks occurred on May 20th, June 10th, August 27th, and even in the end of November. The violent earthquake of Ischia (March 4th) caused the death of about 150 persons ; it was quite local —confined to the district of Casamicciola and Lacco. A loud noise about 1.5 p.m. was followed by the shock which, lasting seven seconds, wrought most of the ruin ; the movement seemed undulatory and jerky, and threw down whole streets in the upper part of Casamicciola ; in the lower part, and in Lacco, ®ver the hill, only a few houses suffered. A second weaker shock occurred at 4 p.m. The fine seismographs afc Vesuvius Observatory, and at Naples, gave no sign. Other notable earthquakes occurred at Osonga in Abruzzo on August 10th, ruining about 1000 houses ; between Tabreez and Khoi, from August 28th to September 11th ; and afc the Azores from the end of February extending into March ; this last was connected with a submarine eruption, and in San Miguel destroyed 200 houses. Some interesting seismic phenomena occurred in Switzerland ; the basin of the Lake of Geneva is indicated as a chief centre of vibration, whence principally Western Switzerland is affected. The more violent shocks extended into France or the Black Forest (e.g. on March 3rd and July 22nd) ; neither Alps nor Jura proved an obstacle. Another centre appeared on November 18th in the East Switzerland, between Sanii3 and Glarnisch, and the effects reached to the Tyrol, the Southern Black Forest, the Jura and the Ticino. Vorarlberg seems to have been the seat of independent earthquakes with the Arlberg as centre. On January 10th there was an earthquake on the eastern side, and on December 2nd on tho Western; and on November sfch a movement extended from Arlberg over the Bergenzerwald, most of East Switzerland, and as far as Zurich. In the flab regions of the Danube three earthquakes were observed (February sfch and 11th and April 3rd). In Belgium there was a small earthquake on February 28th, in Beckrath aud Wickrath ; and a stronger one occurred on November 18th, affecting Belgium, the Hhine province, and Westphalia, and haying its centre about Charieroi. Saxony had earthquake motions on May 22nd and September 24fch. Herr Fuchs says little of volcanic phenomena, but notes those of San Migu.el as the most remarkable.