THE NEWFOUNDLAND EARTHQUAKE

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 52, 25 November 1929, Page 11

THE NEWFOUNDLAND EARTHQUAKE

CHANGE IN CONFIGURATION OF LAND HEAVY DAMAGE FROM TIDAL WAVE St. Johns, November 22. A definite change in the configuration of the land in the Burin Peninsula as the result of the recent earthquake is reported by the Hon. George Bartlett on his arrival from Burin, where he witnessed the tidal-wave disaster from the deck of the steamer Daisy, which was lifted on the crest and dropped back as the tide receded. Where vessels of fifteen tons could ride safely at anchor, the disturbance has left the coastal waters too shallow for navigation. The property damage is estimated at more than a million dollars. The deaths are variously estimated at twenty-six to thirty-six. Burin, the largest town affected, has a population of 1200. The wave rose forty feet, sweeping all the waterfront property. The French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, off the Burin coast, are reported to have suffered severe damage. The wave struck Burin at night two hours after the earthquake in darkness. The scene was appalling. From all sides came cries for help. So bare of everything in certain localities are the Burin waterfronts, Mr. Bartlett said, that no evidence remains of there ever being inhabited houses in the riding of Burin Inlet. The seas were searched by rescuers from the Daisy immediately after the wave struck, but no living thing was found. In one upper room of a house a light burned spectral in the dark. From one house Mrs. Vincent Kelly, of Kelly’s Cove, rescued two of her children, went back in a desperate effort to save the third, when the habitation was carried away to sea. Neither mother nor child was seen again. Another family was seated at tea. when the house suddenly shifted and came back to position. As it moved again, the father seized a child under each arm and with his wife on bis back struggled through the water to safety. A motorist approaching Burin won a thrilling race when a bridge he was crossing went down as the rear wheels reached the further side. The steamer Daisy rose high above the Government wharf, and as the water subsided she rested on the bottom where the normal depth is eighteen feet. Tlie most serious condition is the privation from the destruction of homes with the winter supply of provisions, fuel, and practically all the fishing gear. 1 THREE OF CREW SWEPT OVERBOARD (Rec. November 24, 5.5'p.m.) Halifax (Nova Scotia), Nov. 23. The Dutch steamer Stadvladlnger, which has docked at Sydney, Nova Scotia, has reported that three of the crew were swept overboard -and drowned by the tidal wave last Sunday.