CITY AFIRE

Grey River Argus, 1 July 1925, Page 5

CITY AFIRE

Santa Barbara Disaster 'Quakes Continue A Tidal Wave C ONTINENT ALTERING t — •PEOPLE IN A PANIC. and N.Z. Cable Association.) SAN FRANCISCO, June 29. Ihe Santa -arbara damage is estimated at ten millions. Twelve are now known to be dead. The virtual destruction of most of the buildings in the main business streets was the toll ci the earthquake. SANTA BARBARA WRECKED. OVER 300 CASUALTIES. SAN FRANCISCO. June 29. Santa Barbara reports that all brick buildings i uthe town w.-rc demolished by the «-.ii: ‘ :<|which swept tile State. In Santa Barbara some of the finest buildings were demolished. Tho railway lines were disrupted, and communications cut off. File has broken out and a dam burst, torrents of water flooding the city. The inhabitants arc panic stricken. Aeroplanes from San Francisco and elsewhere and Red Cross trains are rushing to the relief. Cornet earthquake figures are eight I dead and three hundred injured, according to a report from Santa Barbara, when telephone communication was re established. The earlier reports indicating great loss of life was due to the facti that over a hundred missing were unaccounted for during the morning, when the confusion was very great, making it practically impossible to check the dead and injured.

FIRST BIG SHOCK THE WORST. FIRES MAY RUIN THE CITY. (Received June 30 at 5.5 p.m.) SAN FRANCISCO, June 29. A message from Los Angeles, containing further particulars of the earthquake, stated that the Southern Pacific Railway is running all its available tank cars to Santa Barbara filled with water, to fight the. tire there. The first tremor, which occurred early this morning caused practically all the damage though it was followed by severe jolts every half hour after that for three hours. Tho buildings demolished include the Santa Barbara Mission, a relic of tho State’s earliest days. State Street ,the leading thoroughfare is undermined completely. The bedrooms of residences are exposed, and there is furniture scattered about. Santa Barbara is the centre of the resort towns clustering about the sea coast, and inhabited by a number ol prosperous persons. Hundreds of curious tourists were flocking to the scene for a glimpse of the ruins, when they were ch -<-ke<i by an emergency police force. It is feared the city will be a complete ruin if the fires now menacing tho wooden houses that are left stand ing, are not chocked. The city is without light and power. Women and children, with a few personal belongings, are huddled in groups, imploring aid. BIG HOTEL SHAKES LIKE A RAG. (Received June 30 at 9 p.m.) SAN FRANCISCO, June 29. A Santa Barbara message states that the death list in the earthquake tonight was twelve.

Tho property lost is estimated at from three to thirty millions. State Street, the main thorough faro is described as a ghastly avenue of ruin. Portions of its most stately buildings have tumbled down. The quakes have tontinued throughout tho day. Terror-stricken, Santa Barbara, s thirty thousand inhabitants arc livon the lasirs. Describing the destruction of the big Arlington Hotel, the manager, Mr. Richmond said: —“I have been through fifty earthquakes, but never ona like this before. It just took the hotel and shook it back and f. rfh as if it were a rag. It was precisely as if one were at sea in a storm. 1 id not believe it possible for a building to move with such force in so many directions so limply as the Arlington Hotel did The hotel is a total loss. A TIDAL WAVE. MAIN STREET WRECKED. (Received .June 30 at 11.35 p.m.) NEW YORK, Juno 29. State Street, Santa Barbara’s main thoroughfare, extends from the beaeh, a distance of several miles. It was lined with buildings which ranged from two storeys to ten. Early messages said that all these buildings were destroyed. The greatest damage came from a tidal wave from the harbour, which swept up State Street. The streets heaved and buckled and as the water mains broke, Geysers shot

up through the pavement. HOW ’QUAKE CAME. First there was a gentle tremor, which awakened even the late sleepers. They hurried into the streets. Three minutes later, when everyone was out of doors, the whole earth rose and seemed to shake itself in some great anger. It rose, then settled spasmodically, with ugly jerks. “We rocked and .swayed like some turbulent ocean,” said one describer. “Minutes that seemed hours passed, until the climax was reached in a crash that eould be heard for miles. “Beautiful State Street was no more. ’ ’ The city' was choked with a blanket ’of cloud and dust. The end of all seomto have come when a gasolene tank, holding 15,000 gallons, burst, the torrent running down the business section until there were puddles a foot in depth. Fortunately these did mot ignite, or there would have been a terrible loss of life. LATEST REPORT. SHOCKS STILL GOING ON. (Received June 30 at 11.5 p.m.) SAN FRANCISCO, June 30. At Santa Barbara the earthquake shocks are continuing. A violent tremble was felt early on Monday morning, being the heaviest since the shock which wrecked the wity. It preceded additional shocks on Monday evening. Bluejackets and naval militia patrol the heart of the business section, but there is no disorder. SCIENTIST’S REPORT. SAN FRANCISCO, June 30. Father John O’Connor, the Seismologist at Fordham University, said that th e earth crust is sinking in some places, and tilting in other sections of North America. The continent is undergoing a swifter and more general realignment than ever before in its history.