Look back at local, national and world events through the Deseret News archives.
On December 28, 1908, a massive earthquake followed by a tsunami devastated the Italian cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria, killing at least 70,000 people.
According to reports, the earthquake registered 7.1 on the magnitude scale in the Strait of Messina, which separates Sicily from the Italian mainland. It is still considered the deadliest earthquake in European history.
Even in 1908, news of the disaster spread around the world, with the Deseret News and other newspapers reporting on the world event.
Earthquakes followed by tsunami waves have always been a challenge for coastal communities. Coming during the holidays just adds to the devastation.
Twenty years ago, on December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake under the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami with waves up to 100 feet high, killing an estimated 230,000 people.
On March 11, 2011, a powerful tsunami traveling at nearly 500 miles per hour with 10-meter-high waves swept across Japan's east coast, killing more than 18,000 people.
Here are some stories from the Deseret News archives about the earthquake-tsunami whammies and how people are dealing with them:
“A huge tsunami hit 20 years ago. This is how the world came together to help the victims“
A cemetery in the commercial district of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, about 2 miles inland, is still covered by seawater brought ashore by the tsunami of December 26, 2004. | Russ Hill, KSL Newsradio 1160
“A child in an iconic tsunami photo is safe with parents“
“Warning systems often do not help tsunami victims“
“Villages hit by the tsunami forgot warnings from ancestors“
“How one Japanese town resisted the tsunami“
“A storyteller works to inspire Japan's tsunami victims“
The front page of the Deseret News on December 28, 1908, as the first reports of an earthquake off the coast of Italy and Sicily came in.
“A lake could generate a tsunami – it may have happened before“
