Just seen on the news that fairbnks Alaska was hit with a 7.9 earthquake. Seems like a large one. I hope not to many people were hurt. The news has not said to much. Could have been in a area that does not have to many people. We could only hope. Is there any one from IW in that area??

It seems to be happening all over :(
We seem to have had more earthquakes here in Britain in the last 2 months than we've had in the past 10 years. Fortunately not big ones, but the one that hit the south east scared the living shit out of me.
Absolute tragedy in Italy.
Hope no-one was hurt in this latest one, I haven't heard much about it.

I just can't help but post this considering EVERYthing that's going on in the world today which has only been becoming more heated and frequent over the past 50 years or so...

"And ye shall hears of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ..."

Matthew 24:6-7

The storm before the calm...

<font color="#00ccff">7.9 is a really big earthquake. I think they said the largest ever recorded on the continent.

DM I think that particular quote has been one of the most used quotes in the Bible [img]smile.gif[/img] I think it might be a bit of an overstatement to be using it now. I think over all, the human race is in pretty good shape right now. Just in case, you should always live your life as if you were meeting your creator tomorrow. :D </font>

I agree with DragonMage. There have been countless prophecies and predictions that natural disasters will, together with war, famine and pestilence, mark the end of the world. Think about how earth-shattering some of the natural disasters have been recently. Earthquakes all over the world, floods ravaging large parts of Europe, enormous forest fires in Australia and Russia... couple this with the fact that wars are breaking out all over the world, and the general outlook is very bleak indeed. I wonder where it'll all end; whether it will all come to some gargantuan climax or if we will see the world slowly but surely destory itself. My generation is in for an interesting time, that's for sure.

<font color="#00ccff">I don't know why, but I just seem to have to point out that they said exactly the same thing during the Civil War, and World War I and World War II and from what I remember of my history classes they have had many many many people proclaiming the time of the apocolypse was at hand. There were the Millerites in the early 1800's who were sure that the second coming was to be in June of 1840, as far as I know none of them were taken up in the rapture.

My message still stands, live your life as if each day were to be your last, and don't sweat wether tomorrow is doomsday. Worry about your life today.</font>

[ 11-04-2002, 12:30 PM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

I wonder how many generations, how many times, how many people have felt the "right now" there are events foretold in scriptures recurring. Like all predictions and horoscopes, you can read yourself and the current state of the world into them if you wish. I humbly submit to you, however, that at least twice this century, during the great wars, people were more inclined to do so than you are now.

<font color="#00ccff">While we are talking about scripture, lets thank God that the 7.9 hit a remote and mostly unpopulated area. Only one injury that I have heard about so far. </font>

Ahh, I kind of hope this "end of the world" BS is true, this "Human Race" experiment obviously didn't works and should have been cancelled long time ago...

[img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color="#00ccff"> :D Speak for yer self, I like living! [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

Ray, they may well have thought the same thing during the Civil War, as well as the First and Second World War; but that was only yesterday in the grand scheme of things. One or two hundred years is nothing when you look at the history of the earth. I'm talking about a general increase in the severity of distasters, both natural and those self-inflicted (ie. wars). How often do your hear "this has been the worst *fill in natural disaster here* since *insert godforsaken year here*" these days? It just doesn't bode well.

<font color="#00ccff">You bring up an intersting point [img]smile.gif[/img]

You do realize that there are statisticly no more nor less natural disasters than at any other time in the worlds history, don't you? The only difference is that within the last 50 years, you now get to hear about it as it happens. It used to be, if 500 people died in a flood in rangoon, a person living in Boise would never know about it. Global communications is the only difference. You often hear words like "Worst in recorded history" well guess what, usually that will be an exageration and when it isn't you have to realize that recorded history is a rather short amount of time. As for the Apocolypse thing well you can't look at the entire history of the world since those prophecies are less than a thousand years old.

You hear a lot about how Andrew was the worst Hurricane ever, well that is only if you are talking about sheer numbers of people and $$$ impacted, 200 years ago a hurricane three times that size could have hit the gulf states and outrside some native americans no one would have known.

Remember when doing historical comparisons, take into the account that we didn't have global weather sattelites and communications 50 years ago.

Relax folks, the end of the world is not necessarily as close as you think [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

[ 11-04-2002, 01:55 PM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

Thank you Magik for calming my nerves. I also heard that some pipe lines had to be shut down do to the earthquake.

I also beleive that there is no more of an increase in natural diasters. But with the world getting more populated it is having a much larger impact on us. You right to say there may have been much worse happening out there. But who really cares if effected some birds and deer. It is the ones that are hitting now that are causing the trouble.

Anyways you all had some good points.

Another reason for the increasing 'severity' of natural disasters - there are many more people living in the world - and frequently they live in dangerous (flood-prone, earthquake-zones etc.) areas. Therefore casualties will be larger than previous.

<font color="#00ccff">Yep thats exactly right. Of course none of this stops rich people from building homes right on the beach where the hurricanes will obligingly take them out to sea within a few years [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

Dunno about the increasing frequency or otherwise of natural disasters -- and MagiK certainly has a point when he says we have no truly reliable records from earlier than a couple hundred years ago to compare against what we find today, in order to see whether there has indeed been an increase -- but it remains my conviction that we're collectively in for some serious trouble given the current way of life we follow. I shan't elaborate (unless requested to): suffice it to say that I'm no pessimist/fatalist insofar as I believe it is possible for us to avert the coming disaster by opting to change our ways. Whether we will is, of course, another matter.

[ 11-04-2002, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: K T Ong ]

Magik, dear, I think you misunderstood the point of my post. At the end, I stated the storm before the calm (reording the common phrase 'the calm before the storm'. Also part of that quote says 'be thou not afraid'. I'm not worried about any of it. I also stated this has been building over the past generations. My only meaning behind posting it was because I am well aware that this is building up to something better. We must endure the hardships and the suffering before all of this will be over. I'm not one of those 'the sky is falling' type of people. I accept what is coming, look forward to what comes after and I DO live each day as though it may be my last.

[img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color="#00ccff">Your right, I did misunderstood your "Storm before the calm" comment [img]smile.gif[/img] I automaticly translated it to the calm before the storm [img]smile.gif[/img] My mom has a really nasty habit of messing up like that so I have sort of gotten used to auto-correcting [img]smile.gif[/img]

I just worry about people who get all tense thinking that the end of the world is coming, just because of the press. The press is really my enemy [img]smile.gif[/img] I hate inaccurate distortions of fact, and to get ratings they need to do just that.</font>

[ 11-05-2002, 11:17 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

7.9 is a *really* big earthquake. But since it's in Alaska I can understad why no one was hurt. Can I ask something? Why worry about the end of the world? [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] When it ends it'll end, and there probably won't be much *anyone* can do about it. So why care at all? [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] Just use the time you've got to the fullest. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Italy and now Alaska.

It always seems like they are all connected. Setting each other off. Scientists SAY that they don't, but I kinda believe in that.

I am hoping that the Alaska Quake (HUGE ONE) doesn't set off the 2 faults in the Regional United States... (CA, KY, NY).

I don't even WANT to imagine what a 7.9 would do to LA or New York... :(

<font color="#00ccff">The biggest quake I ever experienced was when I was on Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, it was a 6.5 and it knocked me on my ass, but all the buildings were on rollers so there was minimal damage done, a 7.9 is waaay more powerful and would probably completely level SF, LA or NY.</font>

I agree with you wholeheartedly, Ziroc. I hope it doesn't have repercussions "down the line" so to speak. An earthquake of that magnitude in a densely populated area would be truly devastating.

And Magik, lol, I understand YOUR comment better now. ;)

I've also come to understand just how slanted and blown out of proportion reporting is, so I never 'panic' over any report. Whether it be 'running out of fresh water', radon, global warming and the greehouse effect. But no matter what 'signs' recent events may or may not point to, I just worry for those who are in the path of any of this. I wish nothing bad ever had to happen to anybody, but that is just never going to happen.

And now I must show my geological/geographical ignorance here...is it 'common' to have earthquakes in Alaska? I'd never heard of one before this one and thought this was unusual. I had no clue...*embarrassed*

<font color="#00ccff">Alaska has frequent earthquakes. Anchorage had one of the biggest in the 60's. Adak has a volcano 30 miles to the east (Sitkin) and the the 3rd most perfect cinder cone 50 miles to the west. Earthquakes there were daily events. Most were just mild shakes which caused a gentle rolling of the buildings (love them rollers), Every once in a while you would get a bigger quake (6+) and those were usually sharp jolting things that would cause the floor to drop out from under you and then bounce you back up again (sort of like a big drum surface). Alaska is part of the "Ring of Fire" In the pacific and is very geologicly active. [img]smile.gif[/img] Great place to visit, but don't want to live there again [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>