This was on my Netscape home page as Breaking News.

[Nikepallas]

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=NW_1-T&oldflok=FF-APO-PLS&idq=/ff/story/0001/20041227/0714759370.htm


Scientist believed earthquake effected earth's rotation.

(Snip)
Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute, likened the quake's power to detonating a million atomic bombs the size of those dropped on Japan during World War II, and said the shaking was so powerful it even disturbed the Earth's rotation.

``All the planet is vibrating'' from the quake, he told Italian state radio. Other scientists said it was early too say whether the rotation was affected by the quake.

The earthquake occurred at a spot where the Indian Ocean plate is gradually being forced underneath Sumatra, which is part of the Eurasian plate, at about the speed at which a human fingernail grows, Booth explained.

``This slipping doesn't occur smoothly,'' he said. Rocks along the edge stick against one another and pent-up energy builds over hundreds of years.

[MissBrooks]

1. It was the largest earthquake I've ever heard about...

and earthquakes are sort of a hobby for me.

[BeTheChange]

2. I thought the 9.5 in Chile was the largest modern quake

[Warpy]

3. It was, 1960, produced a large tsunami, too

[Up2Late]

4. I think it is 4th or 5th largest ever recorded

excluding volcanic explosions and :nuke:Megaton bomb blasts

[depakid]

5. That was in 1960

The Chliean quake had a moment magnitude of 9.5. The Alaska quake comes in second at 9.2, but that was in 1964 and also produced a tsunami that took out towns along the Northwest coast.

This quake is the strongest to occur in over 40 years- so for anyone under say, 50, this is largest quake they'd remember hearing about.

[BeTheChange]

6. Can anyone compare the tsunami devastation..

from the Alaskan quake. It would help to put it into perspective. I know the death count is bound to be much lower.

[TacticalPeek]

7. googles

http://www.iris.washington.edu/gifs/slides/alaska/slideshow/pages/16.htm

http://www.iris.washington.edu/gifs/slides/alaska/slideshow/pages/18.htm

http://www.iris.washington.edu/gifs/slides/alaska/slideshow/pages/20.htm