Posted on 02/27/2010 11:47:09 AM PST by Star Traveler
VOA News
27 February 2010
Based on U.S. Geological Survey figures, Saturday's 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile could rank as one of the most powerful in history.
If the magnitude of the Chilean earthquake stands, it would be tied as the fifth-strongest earthquake recorded since 1900, when records were first kept. An earthquake off the coast of Ecuador in 1906 also was recorded to have a magnitude of 8.8.
The most powerful earthquake recorded also occurred in Chile, in 1960. It had a magnitude of 9.5. In southern Chile alone, that earthquake killed approximately 1,655 people, left about two million homeless, and caused $550 million in damage.
The strongest earthquake in recent years - and the third strongest since 1900 - was a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in 2004. That quake spawned the tsunami that killed almost 228,000 people in South Asia.
The 1960 Chile earthquake generated a tsunami that caused 61 deaths and $75 million of damage in Hawaii, 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan, and another 32 dead and missing in the Philippines. It also caused $500,000 in damage on the west coast of the United States.
Paul Caruso of the National Earthquake information Center tells VOA that seismologists began recording earthquake magnitude in 1925, and applied those measurements to modern earthquakes dating back to 1900.
Throughout history, the most powerful earthquakes have not necessarily been the deadliest. The deadliest earthquake of modern times was recorded in 1556 in central China. More than 830,000 people were reported killed in that quake, which had an estimated magnitude of 8.
Exactly...but that doesn't stop certain posters from typically posting it. The post I was replying to was listing the usual inane "reasons" for such, and that's what my reply was about.
Everytime there's a major quake, those posts/posters show up.
Mt. Hood sticking up into the stratosphere is impressive. It is different on the Coast. We live in Southeast Idaho and it is varied. A short drive to the sand dunes. The Grand Tetons. Lots of good fishing, hunting (if you're into that). Rock hunting. And Yellowstone. If it blows, it was nice knowing ya. :-) We did go see the giant redwoods a couple of years ago. Being a carpenter/cabinetmaker seeing those enormous trees. I was so excited. :-)
Steven A. Austin and Mark L. Strauss*
Institute for Creation Research, PO Box 2667, El Cajon, CA 92021
Voice: (619) 448-0900 FAX: (619) 448-3469
(Unpublished manuscript of January 14, 1999. These authors published a simplified,
less technical version of this paper in 1999 under the title "Are Earthquakes Signs of the End Times?:
A Geological and Biblical Response to an Urban Legend,"
Christian Research Journal, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 30-39.)
Our primary concern is with the first part of the discourse, where Jesus warns against being deceived by false christs or being alarmed at wars, rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes:
And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs." (Matt. 24:4-8)
Among dispensationalists there are two main interpretations of these verses. As we shall see, neither confirms that earthquakes will increase as the present Church age draws to a close.
(1) Some dispensationalists see the whole of the Olivet Discourse as relating to the tribulation period. Verses 4-8 are usually said to concern the disturbances of the first half of the tribulation while verses 9-26 concern the second half - the Great Tribulation.53 Evidence for this is claimed in the similarity between the events described in verses 4-8 and those associated with the seven seals of Revelation 6.54 For advocates of this view, the earthquakes identified in verses 7-8 are not part of the present Church age, but rather the tribulation period. In this case, even if the birth image in verse 8 were to indicate an increase in earthquakes (which is not necessary - see discussion below), this increase occurs during the tribulation, not during the present Church age. Present (Church age) data concerning earthquake frequency has little or no bearing on the text.
(2) Other dispensationalists (as well as many non-dispensationalists) claim that verses 4-8 (or verses 4-14) concern not the tribulation period, but general signs which are characteristic of the present age. Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote that the events described in verses 4-8 "are the characteristics of the unforeseen intervening or intercalary age"55 - that is, the Church age. John Walvoord similarly affirms that "verses 4-14 are general prophecies that can find fulfillment throughout the present age, with verses 15-30 fulfilled in the Great Tribulation."56 He adds, however, that these former events "are repeated in the Great Tribulation when what was perhaps partially fulfilled earlier then have a very literal and devastating fulfillment."57 The primary evidence that verses 4-14 are signs characteristic of the present age are their general nature and the fact that Jesus identifies them as events which do not indicate the end ("but that is not yet the end") and so should not provoke apocalyptic fervor ("see that you are not alarmed").
[ an excerpt, see the link for complete article ... ]
Figure 1. Global frequency of the largest earthquakes during the twentieth century. Graph (a) shows the frequency of M 7.0 earthquakes during the entire century (1960 events). Graph (b) shows the frequency of M 6.5 earthquakes after 1930 (4593 events). In both plots a general decrease in earthquake frequency is evident through the twentieth century.
Table 1. Numbers of M 6.0 earthquakes worldwide in the twentieth century. The numbers of earthquakes reported in the National Geophysical Data Center file called "1900.EQ" greatly exceed those reported by Hal Lindsey from his unspecified U.S. Geological Survey source.
Incredible pix
Prayers :(
What's next -- and where?
What's next -- and where?
Well..., I could suggest a place... off the Oregon or Washington coast... a 9.0 to a 10.0 earthquake... the Cascadia Subduction Zone... (it's about due...).
Ay, caramba!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2460888/posts
One must rightly divide the Word, and this is more a chop-job.
Does nothing but bring ridicule upon both believers and the Wrod itself.
As my pastor loves to say, "more often than not, when somebody sees the clouds form a great 'G. P.' in the sky, it means either, 'go plow', or 'get planting'; NOT 'go preach!'"
Ahhh; one finally showed up, but not here; follow the link, and cringe.
I see it, and thanks for calling my attention to it. I'll be "ramping up" another thread to address this one, and will post on the thread that you referenced.
I suspect that some (and/or many) won't like some of my responses, but that's the way it goes on Free Republic, sometimes.
You'll hear from me on that other thread, as soon as I get some rest here, and then get back to it again... :-)
I believe Tokyo and Yokohama are unfortunately going suffer the destructive and economically disrupting effects of their version of the 'big one', similar to the Great Kanto Quake of 1923 (below). When is the question.
My wife was wondering if we would be next. I’m in central Mo. and the New Madrid fault is lurking out there.
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