The Messinian earthquake occurred on December 29, 1908. Soon the whole world was shocked by the tragic news of terrible events. Two Italian cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria in a short time turned into ruins. Tens of thousands of people were buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Due to natural disaster, even the outlines of the coast and the relief of the coastal bottom have changed. Interestingly, the most complete description of the disaster was made by Maxim Gorky, who at that
time was just in Italy, and the Polish geologist Bogdanovich K. I.
Fateful morning
The 1908 Messina earthquake suddenly began in the early morning, at 05.30 local time, when the inhabitants of the city still had dreams in their beds. Many of them were never destined to wake up. According to estimates of geologists, the magnitude of the tremors was as much as 7.5 points. The first blow lasted only 10 seconds, but this was enough to turn the flourishing Italian cities into ruins. The rout was completed by the following two tremors. The Messinian earthquake also triggered tsunami waves that hit the cities at intervals of 20 minutes and put the finishing touches on the terrible picture of what the coast had been turned into. In height they reached
three meters. Weak seismic activity continued for several more days until 1909. An earthquake in Italy in 1908 claimed the lives of 80 to 100 thousand people. The exact figure is still unknown. In particular, out of the 150 thousandth population of Messina, about 60 thousand people remained forever under the rubble of buildings.
The salvation of the survivors
The first at the scene of the tragedy were Russian sailors, who were not far from the island of Sicily in training firing. Upon learning that the Messina earthquake occurred, the commander of the detachment ordered the ships to urgently head to the place of the tragedy. On the way to the destroyed cities there were simultaneous preparations for rescue operations: rescue teams were formed, reception centers for victims in ship’s infirmaries were built,
potentially necessary materials like bandages and medicines have been prepared. In the morning, the ships arrived at the scene of the incident, where they began active work to clear the rubble, and also to save the people buried under them. Excavations were also a danger to the rescuers themselves, since the Messine earthquake still made itself felt, seismic activity continued, reminding itself of the earthquakes and the threat of new landslides. And a few sailors still found their death here. Rescue teams changed each other every six hours. According to official statistics alone, sailors rescued more than two thousand people, clearing the ruins and removing the bodies of people on the verge of death. In the following days, ships of other states began to approach the shores of the city. Until today, residents of the city cherish the memory of this feat. In particular, monuments to rescuers were erected in the city, and several streets have characteristic names in honor of Russian sailors.