Friday, June 08, 2007

Can China Predict Earthquakes?

Successful Earthquake Prediction Secrets Revealed

The Magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck Haicheng, China on February 4th, 1975 was successfully predicted by Chinese scientists. This prediction was accurate enough that evacuation orders were issued just hours before the ground shaking. Even though this prediction saved the lives of thousands, the details of how the prediction was accomplished were kept secret.A new article on the Geotimes website explains that this prediction was recently confirmed as "legitimate", based upon access to recently declassified documents and interviews with scientists involved with the prediction process. You can read the full details of the prediction in this month's issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America or read a summary titled:

Confirming A Chinese Earthquake Prediction
For nearly three decades after Chinese officials predicted the powerful earthquake that hit Haicheng in the north of China on Feb. 4, 1975, details of their prediction process remained closely guarded. But now, after gaining access to formerly classified documents and key people involved with the process, a team of scientists has reconstructed this important event and concluded that earthquake prediction, though challenging, is not impossible, at least for some earthquakes. GeoTimes