In 1846 inhabitants of Jamestown, St. Helena, were astounded when a huge wave suddenly appeared 500 yards from shore and smashed thirteen ships in the harbor to kindling. Boats farther out to sea were unaware of the tsunami.
In Lisbon, a bustling city of 275,000 people in 1755, a strong earthquake occurred in the morning of All Saints' Day (November 1st). Buildings buckled and collapsed, fires started about, and the ground cracked in several areas of the city.
Frightened people, the clergy, and shopkeepers trying to salvage their goods, assembled in the great square by the river Tagus. All were on their knees at prayers, when a 2nd earthquake struck. It was less violent, but many buildings weakened by the first now collapsed.
The Great Wave of Kanagawa, from the Series '36 Views of Mt. Fuji' (Fugaku Sanjuokkei), by Katsushika Hokusai — Buy this art print at AllPosters.
But worse was yet to come. In an instant there appeared in the Tagus, at some small distance, a large body of water, rising as it were like a mountain. It came on foaming and roaring, and rushed towards the shore with such impetuosity and violence, that most people were swept away. The water went back with equal rapidity, tossing and tumbling ships about. People who had clambered into boats were swallowed up, as in a whirlpool, and never more appeared.
Tsunami about to strike villagers in Babi Island, 1992.
The 50 foot tsunami demolished a new quay, killing those who had taken refuge there. Afterwards, a 3rd shock set the sea rushing in and out again.
By nightfall, there were fires in at least a hundred different places. It was said that flames were bright enough to read by. They destroyed everything the earthquake and tsunamis had spared.
People were so dejected or terrified that few tried to salvage anything. The fires would burn for 6 days and destroy up to 85% of the city, including many churches, along with the patriarch's palace, the Inquisition's headquarters, 30 monasteries, scores of convents, and the brand new Phoenix Opera house. The Royal Ribeira palace with its 70,000 volume library and works of art, along with the royal archives and their priceless records of the journeys of Vasco da Gama and other Portuguese explorer, also went up in smoke. In total, Lisbon lost over 17,000 buildings, and as many as 90,000 people were killed.
This website is best viewed with the latest
versions of
Microsoft
Internet Explorer or
Firefox.
Occultopedia
makes extensive use of
Flash and Scripting in its pages and interface. Make certain your browser
permissions are set
accordingly and that you have the latest
Flash plug-in for the full experience, proper look and accurate
layout. You can do it with confidence. This site does not contain any viruses, malicious software
or scripts.
Occultopedia is the genuine article, the
original and the best internet index of the extraordinary and uncanny,
shamelessly copied by many, but never equaled. Online since 1995 — at first in a free web space provider
(Tripod.com), and in 1997 finally
with its own domain name and hosting — Occultopedia still is the
principal online resource for those looking for the unexplained, the
curious and the unusual.
Occultopedia respects your privacy. As
such, no cookies or any other tracking software will be installed as a
part of this website's original programming. I do not seek to obtain any personal information
beyond what is volunteered through electronic communications
(e.g. emails & forms).
Occultopedia may appear to be a for profit site, but my site is
not in reality a commercial one. All of the commercial links are from affiliate
programs, and the little revenue I get from these is to pay for hosting,
bandwidth — that can be quite costly if you have a lot of traffic, graphics and
pages — and any other expenses related to Occultopedia's upkeep, support, and maintenance.
For more details, visit my
ordering
information page.
Occultopedia is a
FREE online
resource available to the whole world. Usage of my word definitions and articles
by educational institutions, teachers and students alike, is here by granted.
Reproduction for profit, and for display in another web site is strictly
forbidden, and will be handled as copyright infringement and prosecuted to the
full extent of the law. However, if you follow
some simple guidelines,
I will grant permission for limited reproduction. For more information, please consult my
intellectual property rights, warranties and
disclaimers information page. Support Occultopedia and make it your
online shopping
destination. If you prefer, you can also make a donation.
HELP FOOT THE BILL: this website
is created and maintained by one guy, who also pays the hosting bill.
Please donate if you like and/or use Occultopedia.
Participate in Occultopedia and submit a word
definition or article for the occult encyclopedia at my
entry submission
page. If you would like to suggest a web site or page for
addition into Occultopedia's links database, please go to my
URL submission page.
.
