EARTHQUAKE NEWS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 22 December 1938, Page 6

EARTHQUAKE NEWS

PUBLICITY DEFENDED SEISMOLOGIST DEPRECATES SUPERNATURAL VIEW INTERESTING COMMENT •Un i I e.l Pres* Association I WELLINGTON. This Day. The prevalent attitude of regarding earthquakes as almost supernatural occurrences. with the consequent tear of them, was strongly deprecated by Mr H. F. Baird, assistant director of the Magnetic Observatory, Christchurch, when discussing in an interview the recent earthquake shocks and the publicity given to them. He said that seismologists were stressing the view that earthquakes should be regarded as natural phenomena, like rain and snow and thunder, and precautions could be taken which would reduce loss of life in an earthquake to an almost negligible quantity. He also defended the publicity given to earthquakes in the newspapers against recent attacks made by members of the Wellington Fire Board, and commented on the popular view that there is a connection between earthquakes and the weather. It is ludicrous to regard earthquakes in the light of supernatural occurrences.' “Probably the main reason for the fear of earthquakes is that they deprive people of the power of mobility. Everything is out of balance, and it is imposible to run away from an earthquake. This gives a severe nervous shock to the system.” Mr Baird referred to the recent criticism of the publicity given to 1 earthquakes in the newspapers by members of the Wellington Fire Board, who said that such publicoty was regrettable and that Japan did not give publicity to her earthquakes. “The point about big earthquakes is that knowledge of them can’t be sup-! pressed from the public,” he said. “The * waves travel over the whole earth, and are picked up by seismological instruments. Bulletins are issued in cold print on their occurrence and origin. During the last month we recorded 50 earthquakes, many of them in Japan. “People would not criticise the newspaper publicity if they knew how many telephone inquiries we receive about earthquakes. We have had inquiries about earthquakes in New Guinea from , people who had relatives there. Publicity should be given to earthquakes in the newspapers if it is not done on >

scare lines, on the ground that most scares are avoidable if the right precautions are taken. The greatest harm is done by scare rumours which circulate about earthquakes, and when newspapers publish the facts they do a service that is worth while to the community. EARTHQUAKES AND THE WEATHER “No close connection has been proved between earthquakes and the weather.” Mr Baird said, when asked to discuss this popular belief. “A seismologist in the Philippines has. however, pointed out that such a belief has existed for more than 2000 years. The reason behind it seems to be that people remember the effects that follow volcanic eruptions associated with earthquakes on the Mediterranean rather than the conditions before the earthquake. These eruptions are followed by palls of smoke and the conditions usually associated with earthquakes. “It is possible,” he added, in reply to a further inquiry, “that changes in barometric pressure caused by the weather popularly associated with earthquakes may be ‘the last straw,’ may have a trigger effect in prematurely releasing earth strains.” Asked whether earthquakes could be predicted. Mr Baird said that no seismologist had yet claimed to be able to predict the time of earthquakes, though it was possible to gain an idea of where earthquakes were likely to occur at some future date, more particularly the extensions of former fault movements. TREMOR IN DUNEDIN DUNEDIN. 21st December. A distinct earth tremor was felt at the south end of the city at 5.15 p.m. The tremor was not of long duration but was sufficiently severe to set electric globes swinging.