New Entries in UK Charts Jan 1980 January 1, 1980 (Tuesday) A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Azores at 3:42 in the afternoon local time on the first day of the new decade[1] (1642 UTC), and killed 61 people. Hardest hit by the quake was Terceira Island and its provincial capital, Angra do Heroismo.[2] Forty-eight people at a New Year's party in Canada were killed, and 50 others injured, in the Opémiska Community Hall fire in Chapais, Quebec.[3] At 1:15 in the morning, one of the party goers set fire to a decorative arch, made from dried pine tree branches over the doorway, igniting a blaze that spread to Christmas trees that had been used to decorate the community hall ballroom.[4] At 12:01 a.m., Massachusetts became the last of the 50 states of the U.S. to permit drivers to turn right at a red light.
