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Article: Rumblings in the East. (earthquakes on US East Coast)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 10, 1988
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PEOPLE in southern California were shaken awake on December 3rd by an earthquake centred on Pasadena. Buildings rocked. Books fell off shelves. Power was lost for several minutes in Los Angeles. Several people were injured. Nobody else paid much attention.
Earthquakes in California are so frequent as to be commonplace. About 500 a year are big enough to be felt, but only three of those, on average, are big enough to cause damage. Californians have joked for years about the "big one", a reference to a major earthquake yet to come that would cause untold damage throughout the state. It is part of the folklore that makes California different from the rest of the ...