Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Weather phenomena, accompanying earthquakes, merit separate consideration.
In a number of cases one cannot exclude a simple coincidence of the earthquake and
the observed weather phenomenon. But it would be quite difficult to place in this
category the weather anomalies, described in the aforementioned case PO-40 and
in cases PO-38 (it rained, 'In the Sechura desert, where no single drop of water ever
falls, a river appeared'), PO-35 ('For many hours there was a hailstorm, thunder
rumbled, and lightning flashed'). In case PO-10 news was received of 'storms,
which nearly paralyzed the navigation' after the catastrophic earthquake in Manila.
Less intense weather anomalies were observed in cases PO-2, PO-34 (fog) PO-6
(change of wind).
The anomalous weather phenomena, that accompanied the well-known Erzincan
earthquake of December 26, 1939 of magnitude
8
.
0, are described in [Ranguelov,
Bearnaerts (1999)]. The earthquake caused a tsunami in the Black Sea. Numerous
newspaper publications of the time communicated extremely low temperatures,
strong snow-falls, ice-cold winds and great storms. In southern and south-eastern
Turkey the earthquake was followed by pouring rain, that resulted in a large inun-
dation. We note, that in the case considered anomalously low temperatures began
to be noticed starting from December 9-10, 1939, but the peak of weather anoma-
lies in the region was observed precisely after the earthquake. In the work consid-
ered the hypothesis is put forward of the possible influence of sea water mixing on
weather conditions.
We shall further present an extensive quotation from Chap. XVI of the well-
known book 'The Voyage of the Beagle', [Charles Darwin (1839)], in which the re-
lationship between earthquakes and the weather is discussed.
'The connection between earthquakes and the weather has been often disputed:
it appears to me to be a point of great interest, which is little understood. Humboldt
has remarked in one part of the Personal Narrative, that it would be difficult for
any person who had long resided in New Andalusia, or in Lower Peru, to deny that
there exists some connection between these phenomena: in another part, however he
seems to think the connection fanciful. At Guayaquil it is said that a heavy shower
in the dry season is invariably followed by an earthquake. In Northern Chile, from
the extreme infrequency of rain, or even of weather foreboding rain, the probability
of accidental coincidences becomes very small; yet the inhabitants are here most
firmly convinced of some connection between the state of the atmosphere and of
the trembling of the ground: I was much struck by this when mentioning to some
people at Copiapo that there had been a sharp shock at Coquimbo: they imme-
diately cried out, 'How fortunate! there will be plenty of pasture there this year.'
To their minds an earthquake foretold rain as surely as rain foretold abundant
pasture. Certainly it did so happen that on the very day of the earthquake, that
shower of rain fell, which I have described as in ten days' time producing a thin
sprinkling of grass. At other times rain has followed earthquakes at a period of
the year when it is a far greater prodigy than the earthquake itself: this happened
after the shock of November, 1822, and again in 1829, at Valparaiso; also after that
of September, 1833, at Tacna. A person must be somewhat habituated to the cli-
mate of these countries to perceive the extreme improbability of rain falling at such
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