November 1, 1755. Seismic monitoring or map of earthquakes online in the world. Seismic activity online and in the world

Today it is no longer a secret to anyone that on all continents of our planet there is a significant increase in cataclysms and natural disasters that are associated with cosmic cyclical processes and, as a consequence, global climate change. The increase in activity and frequency of natural disasters on a planetary scale is due to seismic activity. Scientists around the world are concerned about the constantly changing data on the increase in the number of earthquakes. Not only their number increases, but also the intensity, location, and nature of destructive actions.

Yes, the region special attention for the scientific direction of climate geoengineering and the entire world community today there are two points on different hemispheres globe– Yellowstone caldera in the USA and Aira caldera in Japan. These are two huge underground volcanoes located at the junction of lithospheric plates. According to scientists, the activation of one of them can lead to the subsequent activation of the other, and this is not only a large-scale eruption, but also earthquakes, tsunamis and other consequences. The scale of such a global catastrophe is difficult to assess.

This and other important issues of early warning of people about impending disasters were openly stated in 2014 by the global community of ALLATRA SCIENCE scientists in the report “On the Problems and Consequences global change climate on Earth. Effective ways to solve these problems."

Earthquake.

According to official terminology, an earthquake is a vibration of the earth's surface or underground points that are a reflection of the internal geological changes of the planet. The basis for this effect is the displacement of tectonic plates, which lead to ruptures in the earth's crust and mantle. As a result, oscillatory movements, depending on the intensity of the process, can spread over long distances, bringing with them not only a destructive effect on social infrastructure, but also a threat to people's lives.

This issue is dealt with by a special science – seismology. Several areas are being actively studied, including: deepening the knowledge of what seismic activity is in essence and what it is connected with, possible forecasting of these natural disasters, for timely warning and evacuation of people. Like any other science, seismology can actively develop only in a mutually beneficial symbiosis with other sciences (physics, history, biology, geophysics, etc.), since the fundamental basis for all knowledge on our planet is, of course, common.

Seismic activity online and in the world.

Seismic monitoring is developing in most countries, regardless of the territory, frequency and threat of earthquakes. In addition, a seismic monitor is one of the fundamental factors in the development and preservation of the integrity of energy industry facilities. Almost every person on the planet today is an active consumer of electricity. Therefore, power plants are located in all countries and on all continents, including areas of high seismic hazard. The action of such a destructive force of nature is fraught not only with an energy disaster, but also with global environmental problems.

In order to control seismic processes (earthquakes), study them and warn the public in advance about their occurrence, seismic stations are built in designated areas. All necessary characteristics of tremors are studied - magnitude, location and depth of the source.

Earthquakes online.

Thanks to Internet technologies, data is also available to all people today: “earthquakes online.” This is the so-called earthquake map, which provides information about tremors around the world around the clock.

Active participants of the International social movement ALLATRA has developed the most complete map of seismic activity, which displays objective data from global information portals and seismic monitoring stations. Informing the public and awareness of the processes occurring on the planet, their causes and consequences is the main goal of this project.

Today, everyone can observe a significant increase in abnormal weather changes, natural disasters, and cataclysms. The active participation of all people, unification, mutual assistance and friendship, the prevalence of true moral and spiritual values ​​in society is the key to the survival of civilization in the future.

An area of ​​Palu devastated by the earthquake, seen from above, October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
Local residents carry items found after the earthquake in their destroyed houses. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
A soldier carries a child as he is evacuated by plane from Palu along with others injured during the earthquake and tsunami. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
A man walks along a destroyed street in the city of Palu, which was badly damaged after the tsunami hit. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
The wounded man is transported on a military plane from the disaster-stricken area. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
Consequences of the earthquake in Indonesia. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
People prepare a mass grave for those killed during the earthquake in Indonesia. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
The tsunami alone killed more than 800 people. Meteorologists after the earthquake first announced a tsunami threat, and half an hour later they lifted the warning. Many people at this time were preparing for the holiday on the beach and did not have time to escape. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
Local residents near a hospital in Palu examine victims of the disaster. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
A hotel in Palu was completely destroyed after the earthquake, and there may be people under the rubble. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
A destroyed road, a flooded area of ​​Palu after an earthquake in Indonesia. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
Aerial footage of the aftermath of the earthquake in Indonesia. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
Rescuers evacuate a victim during an earthquake. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters
Residents of Palu board a military plane, which evacuates them to another area. October 1, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Mentions of this disaster are found in many historical documents. It is called the “Great Lisbon Earthquake” (1755). The strength of the shocks is 7–8 on the Richter scale. The approximate number of victims is 70 thousand people.

Lisbon earthquake. Antique engraving

Any hesitation earth's surface caused by natural causes (among which tectonic processes are of primary importance) is usually called an earthquake. Over the course of a year, several hundred thousand similar movements of natural masses occur within the Earth, having varying strengths. Most of them are detected only by highly sensitive instruments - seismographs, and those that are felt by humans are already classified as disasters. A total of about 150 million people have died from a natural disaster called an “earthquake” throughout the history of civilization. There have been years on our planet when seismic activity increased sharply, for example, 1976 was called the “year of catastrophic earthquakes.” Then the number of human victims reached half a million.

Scientists learned about the most ancient natural disasters from inscriptions on clay tablets found during archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia. The ancient Sumerians described the consequences of the disasters that occurred before their eyes around 2000 BC. e. The Roman scientist Pliny the Elder in his writings talks about a strong earthquake in Asia Minor, when 12 cities were destroyed in one night. Rev. John Cumming, exploring this “God’s punishment,” writes in his book “The Seventh Vessel”: “Between 1800 and 186, no less than 3 powerful and destructive earthquakes occurred within the former borders of the Roman Empire alone, which cannot fail to attract the attention of the historian...On in the Scandinavian Peninsula and Iceland from 1700 to 1850 there were 224 of them; in Spain and Portugal – 178; in France, Belgium and Holland - 600...On the Apennine Peninsula and in the eastern Mediterranean, over 800 earthquakes occurred between 1800 and 1850.”

However, according to researcher J. Parton, the unusual speed with which the destruction occurred in Portugal sets this case apart from a series of others: “The Lisbon earthquake of November 1, 17 puzzled theologians and philosophers... That morning, twenty minutes to ten, Lisbon stood in all its splendor … Six minutes later the city lay in ruins.” All scientists unanimously admit that the earthquake of 17 was one of the strongest in the entire period of human existence on planet Earth.

Just a few centuries ago, the Kingdom of Portugal was considered an empire “on which the sun never sets.” The country had a powerful fleet, ships reached the most remote corners of the planet and delivered countless treasures from there to their homeland. Already in the 16th century, European merchants in India used a Portuguese-Tamil dictionary printed in Lisbon printing houses, and in Africa, many peoples for several centuries designated the concepts of “Portuguese” and “white man” with the same word. The capital of the empire in those days was called nothing more than “ blooming garden on the shores of the Atlantic." At that time, about 275 thousand people lived in Lisbon; it surpassed the famous Genoa and the legendary Venice in its wealth and luxury. The beautiful royal palace “Marcus de Levrical”, many beautiful religious buildings, and the houses of wealthy citizens were the decoration and pride of the capital of the empire. Private and public museums in the city housed unique works of art, and the richest monastery libraries contained many printed rarities of that time.

Although Lisbon and the whole of Portugal had experienced the effects of earthquakes before, none of the residents of the capital could imagine that their city would go down in history as the site of one of the worst disasters on Earth. That fateful morning of November 1, 17, was sunny, and nothing foreshadowed the tragedy. Most of the townspeople attended the morning mass in churches on the occasion of the Catholic holiday of All Saints' Day. After the service there was a solemn procession through the city. Suddenly the sky was covered with a gray veil and the first powerful shock followed, the ground trembled under our feet.

A description of those events made by an eyewitness has been preserved: “I have seen enough of all the horrors. The ground rose up and down more than an elbow, buildings collapsed with a terrible roar. The Carmelite monastery towering above us swayed from side to side, threatening to crush us every minute. The land also seemed terrible, as it could swallow us alive. People could not see each other, since the sun was in some darkness. It seemed that the day of the Last Judgment had arrived. This terrible shaking lasted more than eight minutes. Then everything calmed down a little... We rushed to a large area not far from us. I had to make my way among destroyed houses and corpses, more than once risking death..."

Other inhabitants of the capital, survivors of the first shock, rushed to the Kais Depred pier on the Tagus River. They hoped to find a safe refuge there and take a break from the horror they had experienced. But after the second underground impact, the foundation of the pier began to quickly settle and, along with the people, went under water. Meanwhile, in another area of ​​​​Lisbon, the following was happening: “At least 4,000 people gathered in the square where we reached, some half-naked, others completely naked. Many were wounded, everyone's faces were covered with deathly pallor. The priests who were among us gave general absolution. Suddenly the earthquake began again, lasting about eight minutes. After that, the silence was unbroken for an hour. All the streets were completely blocked with ruins of houses. Making our way among stones and corpses, we were exposed to terrible danger... after a quarter of an hour we managed to reach a wide field..."

As a result of the shaking, a huge wave 17 meters high was formed in the ocean. It surged onto the coast and in the blink of an eye swept away bridges, heavily loaded three-masted ships, surviving buildings, turning it all into mountains of garbage. The wave reached the central streets of Lisbon. Of the twenty thousand houses in the city, only 3 thousand survived, which were then destroyed by a fire that started from fallen candles and candelabra. Overnight beautiful capital Europe ceased to exist. An eyewitness to the events wrote: “We spent the first night in a field under open air, deprived of the most necessary things. His Majesty the King himself was forced to live in the middle of the field, and this encouraged us, easing our suffering...”

In total, on November 1, 1755, the capital of Portugal was shaken about five hundred times. The strength of the tremors is estimated by scientists at 7–8 points on the Richter scale and 9–10 points on the MSK scale. The earthquake wave reached Europe and North Africa. Tremors, as well as the tsunami they caused, were recorded in Morocco, where almost 10 thousand people were affected. In Luxembourg, about 500 soldiers died in barracks destroyed by an earthquake. In Scandinavia, rivers overflowed their banks. In the English county of Derbysher, located almost 1.5 thousand km from the epicenter, plaster fell off the walls, and a cleft formed in the ground. Powerful tremors were felt in Spain, France, Switzerland, and Holland. It seemed to many people on Earth that the prophecies of the Apocalypse had come true and the “end of the world” had come.

In addition to 70 thousand human lives, Lisbon lost in this disaster 200 paintings by Rubens, Correggio and Titian, an invaluable royal library, which included 18 thousand volumes of books. Among them was the History, written in Charles V's own hand, as well as world maps compiled by Portuguese sailors over the centuries, and especially valuable incunabula - books printed before 1500. The educational manuscripts stored within the walls of the Dominican monastery were destroyed in the fire.

Having barely recovered from the shock, city authorities began searching for those responsible for the incident. King Don José of Portugal ordered the construction of gallows and the public hanging of hundreds of prisoners who had escaped from prison during the earthquake. The Holy Inquisition began identifying heretics. Several Protestant clergymen were captured and forced to be baptized as punishment for sinfully provoking “God’s wrath.” Fortunately, in all this hysteria, common sense and the mind of the Secretary of State, the Marquis de Pombal. When the king asked him to make proposals for a plan for the restoration of the city, the marquis uttered words that went down in history: “Sir, we must bury the dead and feed the living.”

It is known that de Pombal received emergency powers from the king. To begin with, he ordered tons of food to be delivered from the provinces and to provide housing for the homeless. Then, under his leadership, the townspeople began to rebuild the capital. The restoration of Lisbon lasted for 15 long years. This time the width of its streets was increased to 12 meters, and spacious sidewalks appeared.

The disaster on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean deeply shocked the contemporary French philosopher and educator Voltaire. The following words are attributed to him: “Truly, for those places it was the day of the Last Judgment; All that was missing was the sound of a trumpet.” The impression of what happened was so strong that the philosopher ordered the premiere of his new play to be postponed for a while. As his biographer Tallentire said, “The earthquake made people think. Having betrayed their love for the theater, they rushed to churches.” Another French encyclopedist, Jean Jacques Rousseau, looked to the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 as proof of his theory " natural man": "If more people lived in nature, then many more people would survive."

On November 1, 1755, at 9:20 am, a powerful earthquake occurred in Lisbon, which completely destroyed the capital of Portugal, turning it into ruins. It remains to this day one of the most destructive and deadly earthquakes in history, killing about 80 thousand people in 6 minutes. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Atlantic Ocean, about 200 kilometers southwest of Cape San Vicente. The seismic shocks were followed by a fire and a tsunami, which caused especially many troubles due to Lisbon's coastal location.

The earthquake occurred on the morning of November 1, a Catholic holiday - All Saints' Day. According to surviving descriptions, the earthquake lasted from three and a half to six minutes, causing huge cracks in the ground, five meters wide, separating the city center from the rest of the land. The survivors rushed to the seemingly safe docks and saw that the water had receded, and the bottom of the sea was visible with numerous wrecks of ships and cargo. A few minutes after the earthquake, a huge tsunami covered the harbor and city center and rushed upstream of the Tagus River. Two more waves followed. Areas of the city not affected by the tsunami were destroyed by fires that lasted five days.

Of the 275 thousand people inhabiting the city, more than 90 thousand died. Another 10 thousand died on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. 85% of the buildings were destroyed, including the famous palaces, libraries, as well as the best examples of characteristic Portuguese architecture of the 16th century. Buildings that were not destroyed by the earthquake fell prey to fire. The new Opera building, opened just six months earlier, was leveled by the earthquake. The Royal Palace, which was located just across the Tagus River on the site of modern Tereiro do Paço Square, was completely destroyed by earthquakes and tsunamis. The palace library contained the royal library of 70,000 volumes, as well as hundreds of works of art, including paintings by Rubens, Titian and Correggio. All this was irretrievably lost. Along with the palace, the royal archives with descriptions of the travels of Vasco da Gama and other navigators also perished. Many churches, cathedrals and the city's largest hospital were destroyed. The tomb of the national hero, Nuno Alvares Pereira, was lost. Visitors to Lisbon can still visit the ruins of the monastery, which were preserved by the people of Lisbon to commemorate the earthquake.

It is described that many animals sensed danger and sought to climb to higher ground before the water arrived. This is the first documented description of this phenomenon in Europe.

The earthquake exacerbated internal political contradictions in Portugal and immediately nullified all the colonial ambitions that the country had in the 18th century. However, the consequences of this disaster were not limited to destroyed houses and foreign policy collapse. Lisbon was the capital of a religiously Catholic country that built many churches and carried out missionary work in the colonies. Moreover, the disaster struck the city on an important Catholic holiday and destroyed almost all the churches. This catastrophe raised the question of the “cruelty of God” with new urgency before the philosophers and theologians of the Enlightenment.

Some researchers argue that the earthquake affected not only the minds of philosophers, but also their language. It is argued that it was the earthquake that gave additional meaning to the words “foundations, foundation” and “shock, shock.”

OCTOBER, ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE: Within a radius of up to 600 km
Strange and inexplicable phenomena occur from Lisbon:
Some wells are drying up, others, on the contrary,
they throw out water forcefully, in others the water level changes, becomes cloudy or begins to smell unpleasant. They crawl out of holes
reptiles and domestic animals are worried, trying to leave coastal areas and climb to higher ground.

Ceramic panel with a view of Lisbon before the earthquake.In 1755, Lisbon had 275 thousand inhabitants.

9.00 am

Lisbon has beautiful sunny weather. On the occasion of All Saints' Day, the city is festively decorated, bells ring, and festive services are held in crowded churches. King Jose the First is not in the city - the sovereign with the entire court went, at the request of his daughters, to morning mass in one of the country churches.

Engraving of Lisbon before the earthquake

Royal Palace and Tagus River embankment

9:20 a.m.

In the Atlantic Ocean, 200 kilometers from Cape Sao Vicente, the southwestern tip of Portugal, an earthquake of magnitude 8.5-9.5 begins. The first tremors: church spiers sway, according to an eyewitness, “like ears of corn in the wind.” Church utensils and candles fall from the altars. After about 6 seconds, a second shock follows: spiers and towers collapse onto the roofs of churches, the walls of buildings stagger and collapse, burying thousands of people. Those who ran out into the streets in panic also die under the ruins.

People went crazy with horror. "A terrible sight dead bodies, the screams and groans of the dying, half buried in ruins, are beyond any description; fear and despair so possessed everyone that the most determined people did not dare stop for a moment to move a few stones that crushed their dearest face, although many could have been saved in this way; but no one thought about anything other than their own salvation.<…>The number of deaths in houses and on the streets is incomparably less than the number of victims who found their death under the rubble of churches...”, wrote the English surgeon Wolfalm, who survived the earthquake, at the end of November 1755.

A few minutes later the third shock occurs , Through the strong roar and roar of collapsing buildings coming from underground, the cries of the wounded are barely audible. Cracks up to five meters wide appear in the ground, cutting off the city center from the rest of the land.

The surviving people rush to Tagus River, in hoping to cross it and leave the collapsing city, others run to the embankment and port piers to go out to sea on boats and ships (the city is located at the mouth of the Tagus, 15 km from the sea). The new Lisbon embankment, along with the crowd of people gathered here, is being swallowed up by a giant crack in the ground.

Around 10.00 am

The water suddenly recedes from the shore, revealing the wreckage of ships and the remains of cargo. Ships moored at the berths sit on their bottoms and fall to their sides. Soon a gigantic tsunami wave up to seventeen meters high covers the shore. Heavily loaded three-masted ships, like toy boats, were picked up by the wave and thrown into the city several kilometers from the port. The tsunami, having covered the port and the city center, rushes at great speed upstream of the Tagus. The first wave is followed by two more.

Around 12.00 o'clock

From the many fallen candles in the temples, destroyed hearths and stoves, the fire spreads to church decoration, household utensils and wooden buildings, fires break out in all parts of the city. The wind spreads the fire, and soon the ruins of the city are engulfed in flames.

And at this time:

The earthquake destroys at least sixteen cities in Portugal. The city closest to Lisbon, Setubal, was half destroyed by the earthquake, then completely destroyed by the tsunami. In the south of the country, in the Algarve province, coastal towns and villages were washed away by a giant tsunami. There is destruction in the western part of Spain - in Seville and Malaga, in Cadiz an entire block is flooded. Large cracks have appeared in the mountains, and rock falls have appeared on the coasts, including the coast of North Africa. In Morocco, an entire village is destroyed by a landslide. The coastline of Portugal and the mouth of the Tagus River are changing.

Left: A leaflet in Portuguese informing the Jews of Hamburg, many of them from Portugal, of a day of fasting and prayer in memory of the earthquake victims. Right: Czech engraving depicting the Lisbon earthquake.

One and a half thousand kilometers from Lisbon in cities Northern Europe Church spiers sway, the floor moves under people’s feet. In Aachen, in northwestern Germany, an image of the Virgin Mary hanging on a wall suddenly begins to swing like a pendulum. Chandeliers swing in Hamburg churches. In Luxembourg, a military barracks collapses, five hundred soldiers die under the rubble.

Tent camp on the ruins of Lisbon

The water level in Lake Geneva suddenly rises a meter, then drops again. So-called “standing waves” are observed on lakes in Norway and Sweden. The strength of the waves in the ports of Holland is such that the waves lift ships moored to them from the piers. A three-meter wave is wreaking havoc on the southern coast of England. Unusual tides are observed along the coasts of Holland, Ireland, England, and Norway. In one of the ports of Ireland, a wave spins ships in a whirlpool and floods the market square.

A healing spring in the resort town of Teplice (Czech Republic) suddenly releases a huge amount of water. An hour and a half before the unusual outpouring, the water in the source became indignant and began to flow out with silt, then for a minute it completely stopped flowing, then with enormous power went again, throwing out reddish particles of iron oxide.

On the ruins of Lisbon

The tsunami hit the coast of North Africa, the islands of Martinique and Barbados in the North Atlantic. In the Lesser Antilles, the tide rises by 6 meters instead of the usual 75 cm. Ground shaking west and south of Portugal reaches the Azores and Canary Islands, Madeira and even the Cape Verde Islands.

Ruins of the Church of San Nicolau

The Great Lisbon Earthquake claimed about 100 thousand lives, destroyed countless values ​​of architecture and art, hundreds of paintings by great artists, unique documents (including reports on the Great Geographical Discoveries), the richest archives of the Kingdom of Portugal, libraries, and collections of ancient manuscripts. November 1, 1755 is one of those fateful days that changed our world. Just as tremors in the depths of the Atlantic caused church spires to sway on the other side of the earth, the Lisbon disaster forced many European thinkers to doubt the rationality of the universe, to rethink the relationship of man with God, man with the unconquered, dangerous, unpredictable nature.

“What should we do now? We will bury the dead and take care of the living,” answered the royal minister Sebastian di Carvalho, the future Marquis de Pombal, to the question of the confused, depressed sovereign, who miraculously survived. The Marquis de Pombal became the de facto ruler of the distressed country. He skillfully prevented epidemics, resolutely stopped robberies, distributed questionnaires to eyewitnesses of the tragedy, which was of great service to future seismographs, and began without delay to build a new Lisbon on the smoking ruins.