TRAGIC RECORD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21556, 19 January 1940, Page 3

TRAGIC RECORD

World’s Earthquakes Millions of Deaths Enormous loss of life has been caused as the result of earthquakes during the past two centuries. Cities, towns and villages have been destroyed and wide areas have been devastated. The majority of these disasters have occurred in southern Europe, India and the East, and along the western coast of America. One of the worst calamities of modern times occurred in the region of Calcutta in 1737, although the reported death roll of 300,000 has been doubted by present-day experts. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people lost their lives in the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, when the greater part of the city was wrecked, fire broke out and a tidal wave swept over the quays and destroyed the shipping. Mont Pelee Disaster A death roll of 60,000 was recorded following the great earthquake in Calabria, in the “toe” of Italy, in 1783. About 20.000 perished at Aleppo in 1822. 12,000 at Naples in 1857, and 25,000 in Peru in 1868. The first serious earthquake this century was at the eruption of Mont Pelee in the West Indies, in 1902, when 20.000 people perished. An area of 1,500,000 square miles was affected in a disturbance in India in 1905 which accounted for 20,000 lives. In the famous Californian earthquake of 1906, the greater part of San Francisco was destroyed. An appalling disaster in southern Italy in 1908 resulted in the destruction of Messina, Reggio and many villages and the loss of 77,283 lives. Japan suffered its worst disaster on September 1, 1923, when an earthquake followed by a tidal wave and fire destroyed Tokio and Yokohama. Casualties numbered 246.540, of whom 103,733 were injured, 99,331 were killed and 43,476 missing and probably all killed. A total of 447,128 houses were destroyed by fire and 128,266 collapsed. On July 23, 1930, the region near Naples had one of its worst earthquakes, 2142 people being killed and 4551 injured. In March, 1931, Nicaragua experienced an earthquake which destroyed the capital city of Manaquao, hundreds of persons being killed or injured. The year 1935 was a tragic one in the matter of earthquakes. Incidentally, Turkey was the victim in May of that year, when more than 500 persons were killed, while in the following month in Baluchistan, India, there was a visitation which accounted for about 40,000 lives. Last year began disastrously with a terrible earthquake which struck Chile, causing about 25,000 deaths. In April there was another disaster in Anatolia, Turkey, where over 250 lives were lost. New Zealand’s worst experience with earthquakes occurred in February, 1931. when Napier was rocked for days and almost completely razed, 256 citizens losing their lives. The only other earthquake in the Dominion of notable intensity was that which happened at Murchison, on the West Coast, in 1929, when there was small loss of life.