Earthquakes have been recorded throughout history for thousands of years. Even before the first seismographs, there were records and accounts of mysterious ground shaking. Earthquakes occur when rocks break apart along an underground fault (UPSeis, 2007). In turn, this causes vibrations through the earth, which causes the ground to shake. The magnitude of shaking varies depending on the magnitude of movement along the fault; the greater the movement, the greater the earthquake. Some earthquakes are huge and cause significant damage, while others are small and cause little or no damage. Earthquakes are unpredictable and can occur at any time. It is not known exactly where an earthquake will occur, but the risk of an earthquake is higher in areas on or near a fault. No one is ever prepared for an earthquake, so those affected must face a sometimes terrifying reality and can be scarred for life. Italy is a country particularly seriously affected by an earthquake. More than a century ago, Messina, a city located in Sicily, faced one of the most devastating natural events of the century. Messina, Italy was one of the popular and bustling trading towns in Sicily. But during the winter of 1908, an earthquake occurred and would forever mark the country. On December 28, 1908, just a few days after Christmas, Italy would experience one of the worst natural disasters in its history. Around 5:20 a.m., while most of Italy was still sound asleep, an earthquake devastated the entire city and many surrounding areas. The Messina, or Messina-Reggio, earthquake struck with a magnitude between 6.7 and 7.2. Because the earthquake occurred in the early days of seismology,...... middle of article...... Scarpa, Roberto, 1988, A Model for the Strait of Strait Earthquake Messina (Italy) of 1908 by inversion of leveling data, http https://www.bssaonline.org/content/78/6/1930.abstract, accessed November 28, 2011. Anonymous, 2005, The Great White Fleet, http ://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq42-1.htm, accessed November 28, 2011. Bird, Drake, 2011, The Worst Tsunamis in History, http://www.ranker.com/list/the -worst-tsunamis-in-history/drake-bird, accessed November 29, 2011. Anonymous, 2008, Landslide Caused Messina Tsunami, http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy/sicily/landslide-caused-messina -tsunami, accessed December 1, 2011. Bosch, Enzo, Gasperini, Paolo, Mulargia, Francesco, 1995, Forecasting Where Larger CrustalEarthquakes Are Liker to Occur in Italy in the Near Future, http://gaspy.df.unibo.it/ paolo/ArticoliPaolo/39-Boschi_et_al_1995.pdf, consulted in December 1, 2011.