In this there was a slight difference in time
compared with Tokio, but, considering the distance, near enough to prove
that the disturbances came from the same source.
Not until the day following was any noticeable disturbance felt in
Honolulu, but on April 19th shocks were plainly felt for six minutes and
the water in the harbor rose rapidly. Panic seemed imminent just before
the shocks subsided. While earthquakes are by no means infrequent in
these islands, this was more severe than any recorded in recent years,
causing buildings to sway to and fro and partly demolishing some of
frail construction.
If, as the majority of men qualified to discuss earthquakes seem to
think, the San Francisco earthquake had no connection with volcanic
action, but was caused by what is technically known as a "fault" in the
formation of the crust of the earth, it seems easy enough to account
for these wave motions travelling round the earth. How widely this may
really have made itself felt it is not possible to say. Several of the
great earthquakes in Japan have been recorded in the seismographs of
the observatories on every continent and in Australia, showing that in
severe disturbances of this kind the whole surface strata quiver, alike
under the oceans and over the continents and islands. At the time of a
shock, of course, half of the world is in darkness and asleep. This is
taken to account for the fact that so far only a few observatories have
reported catching the San Francisco vibrations.
Pages:
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187