A BIG EARTHQUAKE

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 266, 6 August 1929, Page 13

A BIG EARTHQUAKE

IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. New Zealand was not the only country to suffer from earthquake in the month of June. On June 3, a fortnight before the big West Coast shake—English papers had news of a great upset in the Argentine. The message read as follows: “Fifty people axe believed to have been killed and 200 injured during a succession of earthquake shocks in the vicinity of San Rafael on Saturday afternoon. Thousands fled into the countryside, carrying their possessions, and are suffering from the extreme cold and exposure. Few tents aro available, and the majority of the people spent the night round camp fires, some sleeping in railway trucks. The Argentine Red Cross is expediting relief supplies. Eye-witnesses describe the scenes of suffering as intense, and state that many families have saved only a few belongings. The Pacific Railway has announced that the San Rafael service is again functioning, and food and relief supplies have arrived at San Rafael. The burial of the victims was started on Saturday afternoon, the entire village joining in the mourning. Seventyfive per cent, of the victims, it is stated, are tenants who have deserted their homes. At Villa Atuel many people were buried on Saturday, and rescuers are still searching the ruins.”