Visions of Horror, Glimmers of Hope

“ALL AROUND ME BUILDINGS WERE ROCKING AND FLAMES SHOOTING. AS I RAN PEOPLE ON ALL SIDES WERE CRYING, PRAYING AND CALLING FOR HELP. I THOUGHT THE END OF THE WORLD HAD COME.”​—G. R., EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR.

EACH year millions of earthquakes rumble through the crust of our restless planet. Of course, most of these cannot be felt.a Still, on average, nearly 140 earthquakes a year are serious enough to be labeled “strong,” “major,” or “great.” Throughout history, these have caused millions of deaths and an incalculable amount of property damage.

Earthquakes also exact a profound emotional toll on survivors. For example, after two earthquakes rocked El Salvador early in 2001, the coordinator of the mental-health advisory committee of that country’s health ministry stated: “People are entering a phase of psychological problems characterized by sadness, despair and anger.” Not surprisingly, health workers in El Salvador reported a 73-percent increase in the number of patients suffering from depression and anxiety. In fact, surveys indicated that among the needs of those in relief camps, mental-health attention ran second only to the need for water.

But the story of earthquakes involves more than death, destruction, and despondency. In many cases, these disasters have moved people to demonstrate extraordinary goodwill and self-sacrifice. Indeed, some have worked tirelessly to repair damaged structures and rebuild shattered lives. Such glimmers of hope have shone through even the grimmest visions of horror, as we will see.

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Anatomy of an Earthquake

“WE ARE SO ACCUSTOMED TO LIVING ON SOLID EARTH THAT WHEN THAT BEGINS TO SHAKE THE MIND IS OVERWHELMED.”​—“THE VIOLENT EARTH.”

“EARTHQUAKES are among the most destructive and powerful forces in nature,” notes The World Book Encyclopedia. That statement is no exaggeration, for the energy released by a severe quake may be 10,000 times greater than that generated by the first atom bomb! Adding to the terror is the fact that earthquakes can happen in any climate, during any season, and at any time of the day. And although scientists may have some idea where powerful temblors are likely to occur, they cannot specify when.

Earthquakes occur as a result of masses of rock changing position below the earth’s surface. This type of activity goes on continuously. Often, the shock waves that result are not powerful enough to be felt at the earth’s surface, but they can be detected and recorded by a seismograph.a At other times, enough rock breaks and enough shift takes place to shake the surface violently.

But why is there constant movement in the earth’s crust? “An explanation is to be found in plate tectonics, a concept which has revolutionized thinking in the Earth’s sciences,” says the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC). “We now know that there are seven major crustal plates, subdivided into a number of smaller plates,” NEIC adds, “all in constant motion relative to one another, at rates varying from 10 to 130 millimeters [three eighths of an inch to five inches] per year.” Most earthquakes, NEIC says, are confined to narrow belts that define the boundaries of the plates. This is where 90 percent of major earthquakes are likely to occur.

Magnitude and Intensity

The severity of an earthquake may be measured by its magnitude or its intensity. Charles Richter developed a scale in the 1930’s for measuring the magnitude of earthquakes. As the number of seismograph stations grew, new scales based on Richter’s idea were developed. What is called the moment magnitude scale, for example, measures the energy released at the source of the quake.

Of course, these scales do not always reveal the degree of damage inflicted by an earthquake. Consider an earthquake in northern Bolivia in June 1994, with a magnitude of 8.2, which reportedly killed only five people. Yet, the 1976 quake in Tangshan, China​—with the smaller 8.0 magnitude—​resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths!

In contrast with magnitude, intensity registration shows the effects that an earthquake has upon people, structures, and the environment. This is a more descriptive measure of the severity of an earthquake in human terms. After all, tremors in themselves do not usually harm people. Instead, collapsing walls, rupturing gas or power lines, falling objects, and the like cause the most injuries and fatalities.

One goal of seismologists is to be able to provide early warnings of earthquake activity. A digital program called the Advanced Seismic Research and Monitoring System is being developed. According to a CNN report, this system​—coupled with speedier access and more high-powered software applications—​will help officials to “be able to almost instantly pinpoint areas where the most violent shaking from an earthquake has occurred.” This, in turn, will make it easier for authorities to send help into affected areas.

Obviously, being prepared for an earthquake can reduce injuries, minimize property damage and​—most important—​save lives. Yet, earthquakes continue to occur. So the question arises: How have people been helped to cope with the aftermath?

[Footnote]

[Chart on page 5]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

How Many Earthquakes?

Descriptor Magnitude Average Annually

Great 8 and higher 1

Major 7-7.9 18

Strong 6-6.9 120

Moderate 5-5.9 800

Light 4-4.9 6,200*

Minor 3-3.9 49,000*

Very Minor <3.0 Magnitude 2-3:

about 1,000 per day

Magnitude 1-2:

about 8,000 per day

* Estimated.

[Credit Line]

Source: National Earthquake Information Center By permission of USGS/National Earthquake Information Center, USA

[Picture Credit Line on page 5]

Seismogram on pages 4 and 5: Figure courtesy of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory

Coping With the Aftermath

“WE HAVE BEEN WALKING SINCE MORNING. WE ARE FLEEING FOR OUR LIVES. THERE IS NO DRINKING WATER, NO FOOD. ALL HOUSES ARE DESTRYOED.”​—HARJIVAN, SURVIVOR OF A 7.9-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE IN INDIA.

EXPERIENCING the fury of an earthquake is terrifying. “There were books flying all around me from an eight-foot-high wooden wardrobe beside my bed,” recalls a survivor of a 1999 quake in Taiwan. ‘A newly purchased motorcycle helmet found its way off the top of my wardrobe and landed beside my head on my bed. Ironically,’ she adds, ‘it could have killed me.’

Beyond Survival

Living through an earthquake is frightening, but surviving one is just the beginning. In the hours following the event, relief workers courageously strive to locate and treat those who are injured. Often, they do so under the threat of aftershocks. “We have to be extremely careful,” said one man who contemplated digging through a mountain of dirt that had buried a neighborhood after a recent quake in El Salvador. “If suddenly the ground moves again, the rest of this hill could go.”

Sometimes individuals demonstrate extraordinary self-sacrifice in reaching out to victims. For example, when a massive earthquake occurred in India early in 2001, Manu, an elderly man who now lives in the United States, returned to his homeland. “I must go,” he reasoned, “not just to help my family, but everyone who is suffering.” Manu found conditions to be deplorable in the regions he visited. Nevertheless, he noted: “The courage people show is astounding.” Wrote one journalist: “I don’t know anyone living around me who did not give whatever he or she could spare​—a day’s, a week’s or a month’s salary, a portion of their savings or whatever they could do without to help.”

Of course, it is one thing to clear out the rubble and treat the injured; it is quite another to restore a sense of normalcy to lives that have been turned upside down by a few moments of terror. Consider Delores, a woman who lost her home in the quake in El Salvador. “This is worse than the war,” she says. “At least then we had a roof.”

As mentioned in our opening article, sometimes there is a great need not only for material aid but also for emotional support. For example, when an earthquake paralyzed the city of Armenia in western Colombia early in 1999, more than a thousand lost their lives, and many more were left in a state of shock and despair. Said psychiatrist Roberto Estefan, whose own apartment building was destroyed in the disaster: “Wherever you go, people are asking for help. I go out for a hamburger, and most of the people who say hello seize the moment to tell me about their insomnia and their sadness.”

As Dr. Estefan well knows, the emotional aftershocks of an earthquake can be devastating. One woman who volunteered to help construct a relief camp noted that some people who have jobs don’t bother to go to work because they believe that they will die soon.

Providing Hope Amid Despair

In times of such crisis, Jehovah’s Witnesses make efforts to help survivors not only physically but also spiritually and emotionally. For example, immediately after the Colombia earthquake referred to earlier, the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses there organized a local emergency committee. Thousands of Witness volunteers from all parts of the country donated food and money. Soon, some 70 tons of food was sent into the affected area.

Often, spiritual support is most crucial. One morning after the Colombia earthquake, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses noticed a particularly dejected-looking woman walking down a street in the devastated city of Armenia. She approached the woman and offered her a tract entitled What Hope for Dead Loved Ones?a

The woman took the tract home and read it carefully. The next time one of Jehovah’s Witnesses called at her door, she just had to tell her story. The earthquake, it turns out, had destroyed several homes that she owned in the city, which had provided her with a good income. Now she was in poverty. But that was not all. During the earthquake, the house in which she lived with her 25-year-old son had collapsed, killing him. The woman told the Witness at her door that she had never been interested in religion before but that she now had many questions. The tract had given her real hope. Soon a home Bible study was started.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are confident that there will be a time when mankind will no longer be threatened by natural disasters, including earthquakes. The following article will explain why.

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[Box on page 6]

BE PREPARED!

◼ Make sure that water heaters are bolted down and that heavy objects are either on the floor or on lower shelves.

◼ Teach family members how to turn off electric power as well as gas and water.

◼ Equip your home with a fire extinguisher and a first-aid kit.

◼ Keep a portable radio on hand with fresh batteries.

◼ Hold family drills, and emphasize the need to (1) stay calm, (2) turn off stoves and heaters, (3) stand in a doorway or get under a table or a desk, and (4) stay away from windows, mirrors, and chimneys.

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EARTHQUAKES IN ISRAEL

Israel has “the longest and most continuous historical record of earthquakes on the face of the earth,” writes Professor Amos Nur. The reason is that part of the Great Rift Valley​—the fault line between the Mediterranean and the Arabian plates—​courses right through Israel, from north to south.

Interestingly, some archaeologists believe that ancient engineers used a special technique to reduce earthquake damage. This coincides with the Bible’s description of Solomon’s building program: “As for the great courtyard, round about were three rows of hewn stone and a row of beams of cedarwood; and this also for the inner courtyard of the house of Jehovah, and for the porch of the house.” (1 Kings 6:36; 7:12) Evidence of this technique of integrating wooden beams into the stone construction has been found in various places​—including a gate at Megiddo, thought to be from Solomon’s time or earlier. Scholar David M. Rohl believes that these beams may have been “inserted in an attempt to protect the structure from earthquake damage.”

[Picture]

Earthquake ruins in Bet Sheʼan, Israel

[Box/Pictures on page 8]

TWO MINUTES OF TERROR​—ONE SURVIVOR’S ACCOUNT

In Ahmadabad, India, our family was preparing for my cousin’s wedding. On January 26, 2001, I was awakened, not by an alarm clock, but by violent shaking. I heard metal cabinets moving back and forth, and then I knew something was wrong. My uncle was shouting, “Get out of the house!” When we got outdoors, we could see the house shaking from side to side. It seemed to go on for an eternity. In reality, the tremors lasted just two minutes.

The stress seemed too much to handle all at once. We made sure that our family members were all right. Phone and electrical service were gone, so we couldn’t immediately determine the condition of our relatives in surrounding towns. After an hour of suspense, we found out that they were safe. Not everyone was as fortunate. In Ahmadabad, for example, over a hundred buildings fell, and more than 500 people lost their lives.

Everyone was struck with terror for several weeks. People went to sleep each night fearing that another quake would occur, as had been predicted. Restoration was slow, and many were left homeless. All of this because of an earthquake that lasted just two minutes but that will live on in our memories forever.​—As told by Samir Saraiya.

[Picture on page 6, 7]

A survivor of the January 2001 earthquake in India holds a picture of his mother, who died and is being cremated

[Credit Line]

© Randolph Langenbach/UNESCO (www.conservationtech.com)

Earthquakes, Bible Prophecy, and You

BEFORE his death, Jesus foretold events and situations that would give evidence that this world had entered “the conclusion of the system of things.” That period, he said, would be marked by such things as pestilences, food shortages, and large-scale warfare. He also mentioned “great earthquakes” that would occur “in one place after another.” (Matthew 24:3, 7; Luke 21:10, 11) Was Jesus referring to our day?

Many say no. They assert that the number of earthquakes has not substantially increased in recent decades. In fact, the U.S. National Earthquake Information Center reports that earthquakes of 7.0 magnitude and greater remained “fairly constant” throughout the 20th century.a

Note, though, that the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy does not require an increase in the number or power of earthquakes. All Jesus said was that there would be great earthquakes in one place after another. Furthermore, he stated that these events would mark the “beginning of pangs of distress.” (Matthew 24:8) Distress is measured, not by the number of earthquakes or how they rate on the Richter scale, but by the effect that they have upon people.

Earthquakes have indeed caused much distress in our day. In fact, during the 20th century, millions have been killed or left homeless by these disasters. Experts say that many of these deaths could have been prevented. “In developing countries,” reports BBC News, “building regulations frequently take second place to the demands for cheap, quickly built housing to meet the needs of rapid urbanisation.” Commenting on two recent tragedies, Ben Wisner, an expert in urban disasters, states: “It wasn’t earthquakes that killed these people. It was a combination of human error, indifference, corruption, and greed.”

Yes, sometimes the deadliest factors in an earthquake are human selfishness and negligence. Interestingly, such qualities come to the fore in another Bible prophecy concerning “the last days” of this system. During that time, the Bible states, people would be “self-centered, lovers of money,” and “callous.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, The Amplified Bible) Along with Jesus’ words regarding the conclusion of the system of things, this prophecy provides clear evidence that we are nearing the time when God will bring relief to distressed humanity from all present causes of pain and suffering​—including great earthquakes.​—Psalm 37:11.

Would you like to learn more about this Bible-based hope? Contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area, or write to the appropriate address on page 5.

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