Get to know about earth-shaking events

EARTHQUAKES HAVE served as a metaphor, but now, people know what they mean. Gujarat has seared the consciousness of the world and shaken people everywhere. People are looking up books to understand what the Richter Scale and tectonic plate movements mean.

Now, how about delving a little deeper and exploring the causes behind earthquakes? Discovery Channel has come out with a series of programmes which will air, beginning Sunday. The Discovery Profile Series will reveal the facts behind earthquakes.

The premier of the mini-series will be held on Sunday (February 4) between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. The programme will be re- telecast at 10 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

Taking a sharp look at the impact of earthquakes would be ``Anatomy of Disaster I: Earthquake'' with images of mass destruction. It would picturise the trauma and the utter confusion caused by Nature's worst.

``Raging Planet: Earthquake'' would go below the earth's crust to show how shifting tectonic plates cause the earth to shake and cause earthquakes.

Archival and original location footage, photos, period art, home movies and animated graphics, coupled with science, history and testimonials from survivors would form the profile for ``Great Quakes.''

Each of the three episodes would look at severe quakes in history in terms of magnitude and devastation as a point of examination - San Francisco (October, 1989; measured 6.8 on the Richter scale), Mexico City (September, 1985; 8.1 magnitude) and Kobe, Japan (January, 1995; 6.9 magnitude).

The programme pays ``tribute to those who have died in this (Gujarat) calamity and to support the fortitude of all those seeking to put their lives together again.''

Discovery's series on issues like the Internet, the Space Station and now Earthquakes is the kind of stuff to be taped by schools, for rescreening and discussions among students.

By Saptarshi Bhattacharya

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Section  : Features
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