Abstract
As the railway between Sivas and the ruins of Erzinjan has now been repaired, it is possible to add a few more details concerning the Erzinjan earthquake of December 27, 1939 (see NATURE of Jan. 6, p. 13). From Ankara to Sivas and Tokat the damage has been done chiefly to the old and badly constructed buildings made from inferior material, whilst the better ferro-concrete public buildings of recent construction have escaped with cracks and minor damage; but from Tokat and Sivas to Erzinjan there has been practically complete destruction of old and new. The only 'oasis' of lesser damage thus far recorded has been at Kemah near Erzinjan, where some buildings still stand, though 548 buildings were wrecked and nearly 150 casualties caused. It appears probable that Kemah was built on more solid rock than the other towns in the area of approximately 15,000 square miles affected.
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The Earthquake in Turkey. Nature 145, 62 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145062a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145062a0