"The last one just knocked over a few chimneys, but now, with our population density, we'd see some buildings falling, people getting killed," said John Armbruster, one of the study's authors, adding that a major tremor could damage aging bridges and Indian Point's nuclear reactors.
We have to endure dust, noise levels to the pitch you wanted to scream because you couldn't get any rest or sleep, earth tremors, home damages, complete isolation of any type of view to the north, health issues, a sadness in your heart that puts a dread on your face every day, and an unrest in the spirit that we knew nothing of".
The tremors also damaged a hospital, several health centres, more than 1,200 homes, 20 primary schools and 4 secondary schools.
The tremor severely damaged the 13th-century city of L'Aquila, located only about 100 km (60 mi) northeast of Rome.
The tremor severely damaged the wall of Panium, and the city surrendered.
The tremors did some damage to the well but did not compromise its integrity and were not strong enough to cause structural damage outside, the study said.
The island is subject to frequent earthquakes, and a series of strong offshore tremors caused widespread damage in 2002.
Mercury is toxic to the nervous system and may cause memory loss, cognitive and behavioral disturbances, headaches, insomnia, peripheral nerve damage, tremors, and motor dysfunction all problems that have been observed to disappear upon removing the source of mercury exposure, according to the International Programme on Chemical Safety.
But officials said it was unlikely that the 3.9 magnitude tremor caused any damage to the mine.
Apart from killing 11 people and destroying hundreds of homes, the tremor inflicted unexpected damage on the world's largest nuclear power plant located near the epicentre.When the quake struck, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant shut down automatically.
