Karl Jauslin (1842-1904): The Basel earthquake, October 10, 1356
wikipedia.org
Sebastian Münster (1488-1552): Aftermath of an earthquake, woodcut, 1550
akg-images
Anonymous: Earthquake and tidal wave causing huge destruction in Lisbon, Portugal, 1755. Hand-coloured woodcut of a 19th century illustration.
akg images
Anonymous: People bringing a girl out of the ruins in Lisbon after the massive earthquake which hit the city on November 1, 1755. Undated.
akg images
Anonymous: Earthquake in Tokyo (Yedo), Japan in 1650. After an engraving published in Amsterdam, 1669.
akg-images
Anonymous: Earthquake in Babylon, Book of Revelations, from a French manuscript.
akg-images
Giulio Romano (1499-1546): Fall of the Titans, 1526-1535, detail. Fresco. Mantua, Palazzo del Te, Giants' Hall.
akg-images
Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1541): Carrying their parents on their shoulders, the twins of Catania flee the city after an earthquake. Fresco in the Château de Fontainebleau, France.
AFP
Bartolo di Fredi (c1330-1410): Earthquake in the house of Job, 1367
AFP
Hartmann Schedel (1440-1540): The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, woodcut. Liber chronicarum mundi (Nuremberg Chronicle), 1493
akg images
The fear of earthquakes spurs public safety officials to launch preparedness activities, such as the Seismo 12 exercise in Basel. Throughout history that fear has also inspired works of art depicting the disastrous effects of earthquakes.
With a magnitude of 6.5 to 7.0 on the Richter scale, the most devastating earthquake recorded in central Europe occurred in Basel in 1356. The Swiss city is still considered at risk because of its fault zone location and dense population. (Photos: akg-images, Reuters, AFP, Wikipedia)
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
The cost of standing up to earthquakes
This content was published on
The earthquake in northern Italy on May 20 highlighted yet again the need for all buildings to include anti-seismic measures. The quake destroyed large numbers of historic buildings, which were obviously constructed long before it was known how to protect them, but also several modern facilities, especially industrial buildings. In Switzerland, around 90 per…
This content was published on
In mid-May, the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) put hundreds of experts through their paces as part of a tri-national earthquake disaster exercise that took place near Basel. Why Basel? The most devastating earthquake recorded in central Europe occurred here in 1356, with a magnitude of 6.5 to 7.0 on the Richter scale.…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.