When Disaster Struck Athens
By “Awake!” correspondent in Greece
“Greece Ruined by Terrible Earthquake!” “Athens Shaken from the Foundations!” “The Most Heart-Breaking Night in the Capital’s History!”
“50 Atomic Bombs like Hiroshima’s!”
With these headlines, the daily newspapers in Greece reported on the earthquake that struck Athens in February.
The city was considered to be safe from earthquakes, according to the head of the Athens Seismological Institute. But what happened in February indicates that no one, no matter where he lives, should be overly confident that an earthquake cannot strike his home.
Have you ever personally experienced what a strong earthquake means? Reading in your home about earthquakes or looking at TV reports about such catastrophes in some remote country is very different from personally being with your family in the earthquake zone and feeling that everything around you is breaking to pieces!
The first quake on the night of February 24, 1981, was graded at 6.6 on the Richter scale, and it was followed by hundreds of aftershocks. Over 16,000 buildings in the Athens area were damaged to such an extent that they became dangerous for habitation. But that was only a small part of the picture.
In panic, Athenians fled from their homes. The atmosphere created was reminiscent of wartime. Over 200,000 motorcars clogged the roads trying to get out to open country. Besides, 50,000 persons spent a sleepless night in the “Field of Mars,” a large city park.
Reportedly, when a television announcer, cautioning the people against crumbling buildings, said “Get out to the streets!” this became an alarm signal for the Athenians. Disruption of electric current for lighting and of telephone service contributed to a sense of panic. In their haste, many people fled to the streets in pajamas or any rough clothing they could find at the moment. Some were trapped in elevators and rescued only after strenuous efforts by the police. Others jumped from balconies, resulting in their suffering broken bones or even being killed. Due to extreme fright, not a few people experienced heart failure and died.
Medical doctors in some maternity homes ordered mothers to leave the buildings, taking their babies along for safety’s sake. During the panic, some took babies other than their own. Happily, around an arm of each babe was a distinctive bracelet, bearing the mother’s name. So, the next day, on discovering their mistake, they went back to the maternity homes to return the infants and claim their own.
The theaters, too, abruptly discontinued their performances. Not only did the spectators rush out to the streets, but so did the actors, many wearing their stage clothes. In one theater the actors were dressed up as prison convicts in striped clothes, and it was in that apparel that they fled.
Particularly hard hit by the earthquake were certain areas of the Attica basin, such as Peristeri, Anthupolis and Kipupolis, southwest of the city of Athens. Hundreds of houses and many-storied residence buildings suffered serious damage. The occupants were temporarily sheltered in tents pitched in nearly all available space in public squares and gardens in those areas.
Center of Devastation
Most of the damage was caused in the area of Corinth, the earthquake epicenter. In the village of Perachora (Corinth district), almost all the houses were destroyed. The village church also fell in ruins.
Said one young man in that village: “We were in the coffee shop at that time. I was getting ready to go home. We suddenly heard terrific thunder, and right afterward, before getting to find out what it was about, the soil began to caper as a horse. The roof tiles of the houses were skipping about with a very loud noise.”
In Lutraki, a famous resort city visited by thousands of tourists every year, practically all the buildings were damaged. Two large hotels there went down in ruins. The eight-story luxury hotel “Apollo,” which had served thousands of European tourists every year, fell like a cardboard tower. Fortunately, because of the season, the hotel had no guests. The watchman, who was in the building with his little child, got out by smashing a glass door just seconds before the huge structure collapsed.
Expressing a personal reaction, one person said to a news reporter: “I was 13 years old at the time of the 1928 earthquake, which then destroyed the town of Corinth. This year’s event is beyond description. I thought the end of the world had come.”
But it did not prove to be the end for that individual. Nor was it the end for a 70-year-old witness of Jehovah who, because he was bedridden, could not get out of the house. The house itself completely collapsed; yet, later his relatives found him, still in his bed, but with bricks, dirt and pieces of wood strewn around him. He was uninjured! The newspaper Ta Nea published a picture of him, with the caption: “The most lucky man!” But he thanked Jehovah God for being spared.
Was there no advance indication at all that disaster might strike? Interestingly, the newspaper Acropolis reports: “A fisherman at the town of Corinth said that during the last five years he used to throw his nets close to the Alkyonides islands in the Gulf of Corinth. On returning to Corinth, he said to the other fisherman that his nets smelled of sulfur. Despite the fact that he was illiterate, this fisherman supposed that under those islands there was, if not a volcano, at least a volcanic seat.”
Whether that was a definite factor in what happened on February 24 may not be known. However, it is known that, when describing the time period that would mark the conclusion of this system of things, Jesus Christ foretold that, among other things, “there will be great earthquakes.” (Luke 21:10, 11, 31, 32) Athens has now become one of the places that has experienced firsthand the fulfillment of what Jesus foretold.
Providing Help
Although neither scientists nor government officials anticipated the disaster of February 24, once it happened the government took immediate steps to relieve the earthquake victims. There were also outstanding examples of personal concern for one’s fellowman.
Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses live in the earthquake area, and they are grateful that, although they experienced material loss, none of them suffered personal injury. When disasters strike, Jehovah’s Witnesses in surrounding areas, even in other lands, quickly seek news about their Christian brothers, in order to determine what they can do to be of help. When reports come through that none of their members have been personally injured, they greatly rejoice, because they have a warm feeling toward one another, just as do members of a close-knit family. They do not take the view that their faith is a guarantee of divine preservation through all such calamities. But they thank God when they are spared and seek to make good use of the added days of life that they enjoy. However, in the event that loved ones have died, they have confidence in God’s promise of a restoration to life in his due time by means of resurrection. (John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15) As for the shock that results from loss of one’s possessions, this is softened by the loving aid that spontaneously comes from Christian brothers who learn of their plight.