Sunday, May 15, 2011

Spaniards flee after rare earthquakes in Southern Spain; church bell tower damaged

On May 11, two earthquakes and several after shocks hit southern Spain.  This area rarely has earthquakes, and, as a result, people do not build with them in mind.

The curious thing about these earthquakes was how close they were to the earth’s surface.

According to experts, these were “more destructive than many quakes of similar magnitude because its epicenter was on the outskirts of Lorca and because it happened at the very shallow depth of about 0.6 miles below ground.”

"’That is very, very close to the surface,’" said Maria Jose Jurado Rodriguez, a geologist with the Spanish National Research Council, the government's top scientific research group. "’That energy goes very directly to the inhabited area.’"

See amazing pictures here:

http://english.sina.com/world/p/2011/0512/373111.html

Quotes from:

English.sina.com

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