THE EARTHQUAKE IN CHILI.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2041, 24 August 1906, Page 6

THE EARTHQUAKE IN CHILI.

DEVASTATION AND LOSS OF LIFE. SOME DETAILS. LONDON, August 20. The eruption of a volcano near Juan do los Andes is supposed to have been the cause of the earthquake, which spread over a zone of nearly two degrcos of latitude. The Parliament Building, the Town Hall, and the President's residence in Santiago wero badly shaken. , Heart-rending scenes occurred in the hospitals, and in the gaols the prisoners made u wild rush to escape, the warders firing in order to drivo them back. Most of the damage was in Valparaiso, which appears to have been the centre of the activity. Whole streets have disappeared, and the arsenal, naval school, and the Customs and naval offices' and several banks liaVe collapsed. The dead include many prominent resident*. Eight were killed and many injured at Talcu, and there wero several fatalities at Rongo and San Fernando. The shocks continued on Saturday, and numbers of Valparaiso people took refuge in the vessels in the harbor. There were numerous fires in the Alamandra quarter. Many Santiago firemen have gone to Valparaiso. New York advices state that there were 82 shocks on Thursday night. Two thousand is considered a fair estimate of the dead. Food is scarce, and the nights are cold and windy, adding greatly to the people's sufferings, the conditions being worse than in San Francisco. lielief work is active, and money intended for festivals throughout Chili in honor of the election of Pedro Montt as President-elect is being used as the nucleus of a fuud. The news from Chili is still fragmentary, and it is feared that the loss of i'fe in the towns between the coast and the Andes will exceed that at Valparaiso. An unconfirmed estimate from Valparaiso declares that the loss of property there will probably be fifty millions storling. The military are pressing laborers and others into rescue work. Kents 100 feet wide and 50 feet deep are seen in the country.

King Edward is much distressed at the calamity. Router's correspondent at Santiago, in a message 011 Sunday, states that the burstinp of water mains Hooded Valparaiso, and that there is now a lack of drinking water. The latest arrivals thence minimise the loss to 100 lives.

Prisoners in Santiago gaol were, sing ing a hymn when the shock occurred. The wall of the prison fell, burying MO of the inmates.

Perfect order now prevails in Valparaiso, owing to the presence of troops. Military ambulances are collecting titinjured. Great darkness was experienced after tiie first shock, and many thought t'ie end of the world had come.

Several suffering from weak hearts d'ed of fright. Sir Martin Conway, interviewed, attributed the earthquake to a great earth movement east and west. He emphasises the fact that Valparaiso is on, the same line of weakness down the earth's caist as San Francisco.

The Chilian Legation in London has received an official telegram which minimises the damage and number of deaths. .Private telegrams state that the most heavy damage in Valparaiso is confined to the eastern section of the city, which if composed of second-class residences. BERLIN, August 'i'he seismograph at Hamburg showed ,'i\"iiter and mure prolonged disturbanno flian during 1 lie 'Frisco earthquake. MELBOURNE, August 21. The seismograph recorded a series of ' dioeks raging for three hours and 28miliums on Friday morning. The severest was from 11.35 to 11.10. SIDNEY, August I'd. !f is believed at Newcastle. that the 1 "hihi 11 disaster will have an important If. ct 011 the coal trade with South America. There are at present fifteen steamers .'ltd sailers waiting for coal cargoes for vest coast ports, and it is likely that some will have their destinations changed. The seismog rapli at the observatory recorded a shock at 10.30 011 Friday morning, the maximum amplitude being fourcen millimetres. The shock lasted four •ninnies. At 5.15 011 Saturday evening a second shock was recorded, lasting 20 niuutes, but not so powerful as the first. LONDON, August 21. A correspondent who rode from Saniago to Valparaiso estimates that 200,000 ' 'hilians are homeless. Ruin is universal, ind it is impossible to yet estimate the /abilities. An economic crisis is imminent. Some railways have reopened sections. A subscription list for the sufferers has been opened in London. Shocks were felt at Martinique 011 Sunlay and yesterday. LONDON, August 21. The first shock at Santiago lasted fmin. '"see., with a heaving motion. It is srated '■hat the city was only saved from coir. ;> 1 1 *1 e ruin by (lie motion being circular. The naval observatory at Valparaiso predicted Ihe earthquake, and an an;i rineeineiil was published in the newspapers I lie day before. The fires at Valparaiso have been suppressed, dynamite being largely used. Many looters were shot summarily, under m.'rtial law. I he (lovenior of Valparaiso estinntcs that, at a minimum, 300 were killed and SO!) wounded. Private individuals'state (hat (In. killed number nearer 3000. The Chief of Police estimates that 90 per cent of the buildings have been destroyed. The Governor considers that Valparaiso has been totally destroyed, and it will be necessary to demolish all that remains SIJI DiJijLtf. NEW YOKK, August 21. Advices received at New York state that the earthquake destroyed Juan Fernandez (Robinson Crusoe's Island).