College Quake Expert Says Tremor Was First in Region

The Pacific Northwest's earthquake which killed eight and hospitalized more than 60 on Wednesday, occurred in an entirely new area for quakes, L. Don Leet '29, director of the University Seismograph Station, said yesterday.

Because of the complete inactivity of region, there is no history on which to base any predictions for future tremors, Leet said. "But frequently major earth-quakes are followed by after-shocks. These are considerably smaller and take place because the earth has to return to its former state," he stated.

Although it is too soon after the event to tell exactly what "happened to the Northwest," Leet pointed out that 99 percent of all earthquakes are caused by faults similar to the one which was responsible for the San Francisco tremor. But he expects that local geologists "will be running all over the place with hammers within the next few days attempting to find the explanation."