(1) The temblor also damaged hundreds of houses and buildings, including the local legislative council building and several churches and mosques, and five bridges.(2) There have been over 500 aftershocks since the temblor , causing interruptions in the rescue effort.(3) Seventy-six houses, several bridges and buildings collapsed totally or partially because of the temblor , which also triggered landslides in affected areas.(4) Even the global sea level is now half a millimeter higher than it was before the temblor .(5) Earthquakes of 9.0 are exceedingly rare and occur only along subduction zones where an intense force builds, perhaps over hundreds of years, until the plate gives way and a violent temblor results.(6) The temblor proved that an earthquake smaller in magnitude can cause greater damage than a more powerful earthquake.(7) Even a distant temblor could cause a levee break, inundating heavily populated low-lying residential areas- and more homes are being built in flood-prone areas each year.(8) In the 70 years prior to the 1906 earthquake, a temblor of at least magnitude 6 struck the region an average of every four years, she said.(9) The temblor , which injured almost 600 people, hit the northernmost island of Hokkaido hardest, but swayed buildings as far away as Tokyo, about 830 km to the southeast.(10) The first temblor on Saturday, measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, hit shortly after midnight, followed by a second measuring 6.2 about seven hours later.(11) In spite of the temblor 's substantial size, the slippage along the fault stopped propagating well before it reached the earth's surface.(12) During a typical year, 18 major temblors and one great earthquake occur worldwide.(13) Major temblors hit the island in three periods: 1898-1900, 1933-36, and 1966-67.(14) For example, seismic instruments about 300 kilometers southwest of Mexico City detect the vibrations spreading from large temblors that occur even farther to the southwest.(15) Singapore is generally shielded from earthquakes by Indonesia's Sumatra Island, but it does get mild aftershocks during strong temblors in Indonesia.(16) The objective was to protect the cathedral, its occupants, and its contents during the major earthquakes and smaller temblors that could be expected over several centuries.
