
DATE: Sunday, June 1, 1997                  TAG: 9706020228

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: ROANOKE                           LENGTH:   75 lines

SEISMOLOGIST OFFERS ADVICE ON CENTENNIAL OF BIG VIRGINIA QUAKE

On the afternoon of May 31, 1897, people fled their homes in panic when an earthquake centered in southwestern Virginia cracked walls of brick houses and toppled chimneys from the mountains to Hampton Roads.

At the epicenter, the Giles County courthouse shook so furiously that the judge abruptly adjourned court, jumped over the railing and ran outside along with the lawyers and spectators.

In Roanoke, wood-framed buildings swayed back and forth, doors opened and closed, furniture danced around living rooms and windows rattled.

In Richmond, there were two large explosions amid violent vibrations. Guests at one hotel ran from their rooms, believing the boiler had burst, and inmates at the penitentiary tried to break out.

Large factories in Petersburg were emptied of their workers, and piers shook in Newport News.

It still stands as the most powerful Virginia-centered earthquake, one that seismologists now estimate would have registered 5.8 on the Richter scale. It is the third worst in the East during the past 200 years, according to Virginia Tech's Seismological Observatory.

By contrast, the 1906 earthquake that destroyed most of San Francisco and killed an estimated 700 people is estimated to have been a magnitude 7.9.

It stands as one of the worst U.S. quakes ever.

While Virginia is not known for catastrophic quakes, the centennial of the state's most terrifying temblor is a good time to brush up on precautions people should take if another big one hits, seismologist Martin Chapman said.

``If a similar earthquake happens near an urban area like downtown Richmond or Roanoke, you'd have a lot of damage to a lot of structures,'' Chapman said.

``Walls would collapse in some un-reinforced masonry buildings, and there would be a lot of bricks in the street.''

There have been 160 earthquakes in Virginia in the past 20 years, 84 percent of which were too weak for people to feel.

Most of the earthquake activity has been in two areas. One is in Giles County and the New River Valley, and the other extends from Charlottesville to Richmond, roughly parallel with the James River and Interstate 64.

People from those regions who have gas lines should know how to turn off the valves in case there is an earthquake, and people with damaged chimneys should consider repairing them, he said.

It would be a good idea to keep a supply of water and nonperishable food on hand in case an earthquake knocks out power, he said.

``There has been continuous activity, and that's an indication we may have another large quake there,'' Chapman said.

``People don't need to worry about it, but they should be aware of it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

TOP 10 QUAKES

Virginia's largest earthquakes in the past 100 years, with the

locality closest to the epicenter: May 3, 1897. Radford. A few

chimneys were cracked in Radford and as far away as Pulaski and

Roanoke, and plaster fell from walls. 4.3 magnitude.

May 31, 1897. Pearisburg. The largest in Virginia's recorded

history. 5.8 magnitude.

Feb. 5, 1898. Pulaski. Bricks were thrown from chimneys,

furniture was shifted and residents rushed into the streets.