UNR seeks participants for Fallon quake study

Where were you in July, August and December of 1954?

Did you feel them?

Geologists at Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and the Seismological Institute at the University of Nevada, Reno are working with the staff of the Churchill County Museum to collect first-hand accounts from people living in the Fallon region in 1954 who felt the earthquakes.

The recollections will be part of an oral history and scientific earthquake records project. The Fallon area earthquake sequence was the most important historic seismic event in Nevada, and a detailed understanding of the events will improve earthquake safety and add to the scientific understanding of the events.

People are sought who felt any of the Fallon earthquakes in 1954, or know someone who has a story to tell about earthquake damage, injury, ground rupture, etc., due to any of the 1954 earthquakes.

To be a part of the preservation of this important event, you can:

-- Let researchers tape record or videotape your oral account of the earthquakes;

-- Send a written, e-mailed or faxed account of your memories of the earthquakes;

-- Allow researchers to photocopy or scan photos or receipts for damage and repairs.

To participate in this project, call the Churchill County Museum at (775) 423-3677.

Museum staff will ask if you prefer to have your verbal account taped or videotaped, or respond in writing to a written questionnaire. Staff will also schedule a recording time.

For information on the project, contact:

-- D.D. LaPointe, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, (775) 784-6691, ext. 134; or e-mail to dlapoint@unr.edu

-- Diane DePolo, at the UNR Seismological Institute, (775) 784-4976; or e-mail to diane@seismo.unr.edu