On the front page of The Canberra Times on December 17, 1989 was a report of a seismograph in a child's bedroom in Kambah which was the first to detect a massive earthquake in the Philippines.
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The seismograph belonged to eight-year-old Kenrick Leiba, the son of research scientist at the Australian Seismological Centre, Dr Marion Leiba.
Dr Leiba checked on the the seismograph at 5.45am on December 16, 1989 to find what she described as a "spectacular" reading. The machine displayed a series of waves caused by the quake. Importantly she realised the tremor was shallow - indicating a damaging quake.
"We live on the surface of the earth so the closer the quake is to the surface, the more damage it does," Dr Leiba said.
Dr Leiba was off duty, but after her discovery she rushed to the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geography to see if its seismograph had similar readings.
While it was an incredible discovery from a child's bedroom, the December 16 earthquake had deadly consequences. Measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, the quake crushed a baby boy to death and injured many others.
See more at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/12969271
Julia Kanapathippillai
I like writing fascinating stories about Canberra. If you have a tip or a story email julia.k@austcommunitymedia.com.au
I like writing fascinating stories about Canberra. If you have a tip or a story email julia.k@austcommunitymedia.com.au
