Geologists Foresee Earthquake In Local Area; Advise Lack of Panic

The Northeast may be due for a major earthquake. If it, comes, Harvard is ten times more vulnerable than most places.

This is the opinion of L. Donald Lect, professor of Geology, and C. Wroe Wolfe, Boston University geologist. They point out that the Houses, the Business School, and Soldiers Field are built upon filled in ground, over what used to be the Charles River. While the foundations of all these buildings reach below this soft ground into glacial residue material underneath, they are not as earthquake-resistant as bedrock and other base materials.

Geologists have been aware of the earthquake threat in the Northeast for a long time. In recent years, a series of tremors have been recorded in the area. A-1940 quake, which check seismographs from Quebec to Philadelphia actually released more energy than the San Francisco quake of 1906 but did little damage because it centered far below the earth's surface. Professor Wolfe believes the recent tremors have been partially caused by the strain put on the continental shelf by tons of soil, carried down rivers to the Atlantic seaboard from the eroding mountains.

Undergraduates have long speculated that the River Houses, resting as they do on unconsolidated rock mass, are slowly sinking into the ground. Recently, residents of Winthrop and Dunster Houses have reported strange ticking noises, seemingly coming from inside the walls, as positive indications of this. Close check, however, found the ticking to be caused by quirks in the heating system.

Despite the possibilities of an earthquake, Professor Let does not think students should grow panicky. "We can't say whether the quake will come tomorrow or a thousand years from now. The actual present hazard," he says," is less than crossing Harvard Square at noon."