Along with many others I did not feel Tuesday’s strong quake at 9.30pm (maybe because at that time I was watching an equally strong quake on a football pitch!).

Or maybe because I was on the ground floor. Nor did I feel any of the preceding or subsequent ones, except hearing a small almost imperceptible noise early in the morning when everything was quiet.

Tuesday’s jolt set many people in panic mode which then was actually inflamed by the stupid and ridiculous advice they received on the social media in case of a quake – get down on your knees, put your hand on your head, and scramble to get under any nearby table.

It is clear more sensible information is needed. First of all, what is happening between Malta and Libya? Good reporting discovered that such mini-quakes happen all the time and that last year, to name one example, we had even more quakes than the 21 we have had so far but they were small and at deeper level of the world’s crust so only the specialized machines noticed.

Otherwise we suffer from lack of proper information. Italian geological experts would have more information than that available so far even though that is a very sensitive area given the gas and oil reserves present there and the drilling going on.

I hesitate to speculate but I note that seismic activity has been noticed when oil or gas extraction was going on especially if fracking was involved, from the UK to the Netherlands, for example.

There are some people in Malta who are interested in the subject and who have long been asking for information on the presence or otherwise of radon gas in the atmosphere which is supposed to be a sure sign of an impending quake, remaining as far as is known without a reply.

I remember the last time a medium sized quake took place, late at night in March 1972  and how people flocked to the open spaces of Ta’ Qali and the Marsa sports ground. Imagine what a huge traffic jam would result if it had to happen today.

That is more or less what can be said about quake prediction. The experience of other countries such as Japan, which is far more prone to earthquakes than us, teaches us how building with proper precautions can minimise the number of casualties and deaths. In fact, most of the deaths unfortunately seem to occur in poor countries where buildings are not quake-proof.

Our building regulations are supposed to incorporate such quake-proof building regulations. They can always be improved, of course, but what’s more important is that they are enforced. Some accidents with deaths as a consequence that happened recently seem to point at lack of proper enforcement.

The Malta stone is quite resilient and the same can be said about concrete, as long as it is properly cast. There are houses that have been there for more than 400 years and that have withstood wars, quakes, storms and whatnot. And there are buildings of much recent make which have been known to crumble for much lesser reasons.

In times like these the social media can amplify people’s worries and fears. But the organised media such as newspapers and news websites can do a lot to explain the worries and address fears.

 

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