Alfred Wegener – an airhead?

The meteorologist Alfred Wegener became famous for a record he set in balloon flight: On 5 April 1906, he ascended together with his brother Kurt and stayed in the air for over 52 hours. This beat the previous world record by 17 hours. But the balloon flight was not only for fame, but above all for science: the Wegener brothers wanted to explore the atmosphere and test methods for determining locations. Alfred Wegener’s interest was not only in the weather and aviation, however, but also in the eternal ice. In the very year of his world record, he set off to explore Greenland. He returned from this Greenland expedition in 1908. Since then, the 32-year-old natural scientist has been a lecturer in meteorology, astronomy and physics at the University of Marburg.

Earthquake in Switzerland

A series of violent earth tremors reduced the city of Basel to rubble on 18 October 1356. From the afternoon until midnight, the earth trembled again and again. Many houses and part of Basel Cathedral collapsed. The quake and the subsequent fire razed the city to the ground. It is not yet known exactly how many victims there were.

It is the worst natural disaster in the history of Switzerland. At around four o’clock in the afternoon, the first earth tremor caused numerous houses and the choir of Basel Cathedral to collapse. Many of the inhabitants of Basel were seized by panic and fled to the fields outside the city gates. The flight was their salvation. For late in the evening, strong tremors followed again, which could still be felt at a distance of 50 kilometres. Even the strongest walls collapsed.

To make matters worse, the city began to burn: Fireplaces and candles in the collapsing buildings caused fires to break out several times. What the earthquake had not destroyed was destroyed by the fire, which raged for a whole eight days after the quake. When the flames finally died down, the cathedral and many churches and monasteries were badly damaged. Not even a hundred houses remained standing; most of the buildings are in ruins. The number of dead is currently estimated at 300. Many survivors no longer have a home. They now live in makeshift tents outside the city gates.

Help from the neighbourhood

Many people in Basel have lost everything due to the earthquake and fire. They lack the most basic necessities, especially food. The rural population in the surrounding area is very helpful, providing food and drink to those affected. Cities further away, such as Strasbourg, Freiburg and Colmar, also offer their support. They are sending helpers with tools and horse-drawn carts to help clear alleys and rebuild houses. Donations have also been pledged. As soon as possible, the long-suffering city of Basel and its cathedral should be back as it was before the great earthquake.

Tsunami disaster in Japan

The seaquake that shook the seabed off the coast of Japan on Friday, 11 March 2011, has had devastating consequences. The quake triggered a tsunami more than 10 metres high, which rushed towards the coast at several 100 kilometres per hour. The water flooded a 1000-kilometre-long coastal strip and left a picture of devastation. It is not yet known how many people died in the disaster. The monster waves also hit the Fukushima nuclear power plant and destroyed its cooling system. Explosions at the reactor blocks raise fears of a core meltdown.

With a magnitude of 8.9, it was the worst earthquake in Japan’s history. It began at 2.45 p.m. local time, its epicentre was 130 kilometres east of the city of Sendai in the north-east of the country. A tsunami more than ten metres high swept over the coast of the Japanese main island of Honshu a few minutes later. The powerful tidal wave hurled ships inland, swept buildings away and buried the coastal strip under a layer of mud. Tens of thousands of people were victims of the floods, countless are missing. Emergency shelters are completely overcrowded. 100,000 soldiers are now helping with the clean-up.

At the same time, fear of a super-GAU is growing in Japan. At the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the cooling system for the fuel rods has failed. It is possible that the meltdown has already begun. The government has declared a nuclear state of emergency. Thousands of residents have been evacuated in the meantime.

Tsunami warning for Europe?

Even Europe is not safe from a tsunami. The Mediterranean region is tectonically active and earthquakes are the result. After particularly strong seaquakes, the feared giant waves could therefore pile up in the Mediterranean and even in the Atlantic. This already happened about 2000 years ago, when a quake off Crete was followed by a tsunami that devastated the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean. In 1755, a quake off Portugal and the subsequent tsunami destroyed the city of Lisbon. And a quake off Sicily also caused a giant wave in 1908. Because people are now more aware of these dangers again, experts are now working on a tsunami early warning system for Europe.