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}%ew RiverLife In The Valley(Tfic lt;Sunf»ny (Timer. Journal JULY |fl7*-i3An Earthquake Will Rattle Your Pots And PansBy CONNIE BROCKENBROUGH Staff Writer“No less than 20 chimneys in Radford were shaken or split and in some instances nearly leveled. Buildings rocked and roofs of some houses looked as if mortar and lime had been scattered all over them.It was the largest earthquake ever known in the New River Valley, according to a Virginia Tech Department of Geological Sciences publication, and it was on May 31, 1897.centered in Giles County, the earthquakewas also the most severe recorded in Virginia, according to Tech's history of state earthquakes People in Pulaski rushed from their houses and places of business, it was reported in a Richmond newspaper.* Houses in Christiansburg rocked, doors were opened and the earthquake exceeded any in the recollection of the oldest inhabitant.Court was going on in the town of Pearisburg when the earthquake came. Dr. Goodridge Wilson wrote: The judge summarily adjourned court, jumped over the railing and ran out of the courtroom along with the lawyers and spectators. The 1897 quake registered eight in Giles on the modified Mereallf Intensity Scale, seven in Pulaski County and six in parts of Montgomery County. A score of eight means fall of chimneys, .factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls, heavy furniture overturned. Sand and mud ejected in amall amount*.'* ........With a score of seven, everybody runs outdoors, damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction...soRtf chimneys broken, according to tl» Tech publication.Right after the 1897 quake in Giles, there was much concern that Mountain Lake had caved in. Mr. J.H. Hardy said in a letter: I think the water (at Mountain Lake) did go down some but if there was a crack in the - bottom it evidently filled up gradually.People were afraid to go to Angeto ReelMountain in Giles after the earthquake. Shocks were reported for several days along the base of the mountain.Tremors reached 14 states, and were felt for 280,000 square miles.A more recent earthquake on March 8.1968, centered in Giles, caused little damage in the New River Valley. This earthquake had an intensity of four in Giles and an intensity of three in Pulaski and Montgomery Counties.Persons in Pulaski heard a fluttering rumble similar to a malfunctioning oil furnace, according to Virginia Tech records.There is a long history of small earthquakes in the Giles area. Dr. Gilbert A. Bollinger, associate professor of geological sciences and earthquake specialist at Virginia Tech said.Between 1774 and 1970 there have been at least 10 earthquakes centered in the Giles-Pulaski-Wythe County areaEven with this record, the fear of ear-' thquakes shouldn’t causeffeople in the area toSee RATTLE. Page 17
Newspaper Details
Pulaski Times Journal
Pulaski, Virginia, US
Sun, Jul 25, 1976
Page 18
Full Page
Clipped by
Charlotte A.
FL, USA 16 Apr 2016
Other Publications Near Pulaski, Virginia
The Pulaski News
Pulaski Times Journal
Pulaski News Review
Pulaski Staunton News Leader
Pulaski Southwest Times
