AN “EARTHQUAKE ERA."

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16738, 20 May 1922, Page 13

AN “EARTHQUAKE ERA."

U.S. PROFESSORS PROPHECY. Intense excitement has been aroused in New York by I>r. Milton A. Nobles, the geologist and student of volcanic disturbances, who states that an earthquake era which began on March lo will ultimately submerge a large part of Europe. Prominence has been given to his j statements by tho '‘New York World,” ! to which he wrote on March 1, saying that earthquakes would occur in Italy between March 4 and 15. Little attention was accorded the letter until on March 5 Vesuvius was reported to l>e in eruption, the phenomenon beginning until two earthquake shocks. The new activity of Vesuvius followed a prolonged period of inactivity. Tho two earthquake shocks, both slight, were followed by the blowing off of an eruptive cone more than 200 feet high. Ashes, incandescent stones, and streams •of molten lava were ejected, and covered an area of 100,000 square feet round the crater. Dr. Nobles considers it possible to foretell earthquake disturbances by the direction of the winds. He believes that tho volcanic fires burning under the earth’s crust, heat the surrounding surface and cause columns of rising air. Tho vacuum so created draws in the surrounding air and causes wind to blow in that direction from different parts of tho earth. When a wind that has been blowing towards Central America for several days suddenly i sweeps round toward Alaska he looks for volcanic disturbances in the north- j west. Be this theory he foretold the ' earthquake which occurred last month ! off the South Alaskan coast, where a j submarine* range of mountains was be- I lieved to have collapsed. TILTING EARTH. He also maintains that the earth has several times tilted on its axis, throwing the previous equator at right angles and forming a new one.. The equator previous to the present one, he says, is marked from the Rocky Mountain range, from Alaska down through North and South America, across the ! Antarctic continent, and thence northward on the other side of the. world. I>r. Nobles also believes that the whole volcanic section he has described, from Iceland through Italy to Asia, is a vast honeycotnb underground and that, when Vesuvius emits lava Hecln. 2.800 miles away, shows a falling of lava, and when Herla is in eruption the water sinks in the crater-lake of Mount Van in south-west Asia. I>r. Nobles states that when the coming eruption takes place vast areas in Europe will disappear and new continents will arise. The shocks will be felt in the T'nited States, but only tall buildings will be unsafe, he says, and the whole of the country will not be wrecked. It will only destroy that part : of the earth, including Europe, which i has worn out by volcanic fires. 1