Various (Various) (submitted by Anonymous; added on 8/20/2000)
Witnesses have reported grinding, shuddering sounds, rattling, and shaking. Items around the house that are not secured can fall or slide across the floor. In extremely strong earthquakes, roofs and walls crumble, threatening to crush whatever is beneath. Some strange earthquake tales also exist. The up and down motion of P-waves can send large rocks jumping into the air. During an 1837 Chilean earthquake, a sunken ship suddenly rose 30 feet to the surface. In 1923, wells jumped 10 feet out of the ground in Japan. In 1811 Missouri, USA, oak trees were split 40 feet up their trunks, with half of each tree left on either side of the fault. In 1931, two weeks after a New Zealand earthquake, two acres of rocks suddenly emerged seven feet out of the sea at Tuamotu Island, hundreds of miles away from the coast. In 1964, a tsunami swept huge locomotives and freight cars off their tracks, flinging them into the city streets. A Japanese earthquake that same year caused an island to rise five feet.

San Francisco, USA (1906) (submitted by Anonymous; added on 8/20/2000)
American’s most famous earthquake was San Francisco’s big one of 1906. Towns in a 300 mile area were damaged, and tremors were felt as far south as Mexico. A police sergeant recalled, "The whole street was undulating. It felt as if the waves of the ocean were coming toward me." In forty seconds, buildings shook, towers fell, bridges twisted, and houses split apart. Ten seconds after the initial quake, another 25-second tremor hit. Streets rose and fell as buildings collapsed and gas mains erupted. Fires broke out and spread all over the city, burning for four days. 600 perished.

Various (Various) (submitted by Anonymous; added on 8/20/2000)
Witnesses have reported grinding, shuddering sounds, rattling, and shaking. Items around the house that are not secured can fall or slide across the floor. In extremely strong earthquakes, roofs and walls crumble, threatening to crush whatever is beneath. Some strange earthquake tales also exist. The up and down motion of P-waves can send large rocks jumping into the air. During an 1837 Chilean earthquake, a sunken ship suddenly rose 30 feet to the surface. In 1923, wells jumped 10 feet out of the ground in Japan. In 1811 Missouri, USA, oak trees were split 40 feet up their trunks, with half of each tree left on either side of the fault. In 1931, two weeks after a New Zealand earthquake, two acres of rocks suddenly emerged seven feet out of the sea at Tuamotu Island, hundreds of miles away from the coast. In 1964, a tsunami swept huge locomotives and freight cars off their tracks, flinging them into the city streets. A Japanese earthquake that same year caused an island to rise five feet.

San Francisco, USA (1906) (submitted by Anonymous; added on 8/20/2000)
American’s most famous earthquake was San Francisco’s big one of 1906. Towns in a 300 mile area were damaged, and tremors were felt as far south as Mexico. A police sergeant recalled, "The whole street was undulating. It felt as if the waves of the ocean were coming toward me." In forty seconds, buildings shook, towers fell, bridges twisted, and houses split apart. Ten seconds after the initial quake, another 25-second tremor hit. Streets rose and fell as buildings collapsed and gas mains erupted. Fires broke out and spread all over the city, burning for four days. 600 perished.