EARTHQUAKE IN SALVADOR

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21972, 22 December 1936, Page 11

EARTHQUAKE IN SALVADOR

City of San Vincente | Destroyed TWO HUNDRED REPORTED TO BE DEAD (VNITF.D I'UESS ASSOCIATION COT YKIG III.) (Received December 21, 11.5 p.m.) SAN SALVADOR, December 20. San Vincente, a city with a population of 25,000, in the lake region of Salvador, 25 miles east of here, was virtually destroyed by the combined effects of an earthquake and the eruption of the volcano on San Vincente. Seven nearby villages were also razed. FL-st reports say that 200 are dead and 400 injured in Sar. Vincente alone. Red Cross and volunteer workers are busy digging the dead from the ruined homes and sending the wounded to San Salvador. The earthquake occurred in the middle of the night during a procession in honour of San Vincente's patron saint of the same name, and caused wild confusion. The electric lights went out. Lava descended and a cloud of dust covered the city. Houses crumbled. Many terrified survivors are fleeing from the district for fear of a second eruption, which is indicated by the continued activity of the volcano. The estimate of the number injured was raised to 800 on the return of the President, General Martinex, from a tour of inspection of the stricken area. Evacuation efforts are being rushed because sulphur has contaminated all the water supplies of San Vincente, where the suffering has been increased through intense cold and a high wind. All available trains and automobiles arc being used to carry the injured to the hospitals, which are already crowded. j