Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-07-31
The Horror in Ischia-

Eighteen hundred and eighty-three
has already fairly earned the title
of the year Of horrors. 1t opened with
hOlOcausts and shipwrecks, and each
succeeding month has almost uniformly
added to the roll of disasters. The last
catastrophe, briefly reported yesterday
morning. fuller details Of which are given
to-day, is the terrific earthquake in the
island of Ischia, near Naples. The
towns Of Casamicciola, ForiO and
LaccO are reported TO have
been completely destroyed. The
shock in its intensity and destructive
effects exceeded that which shook the
island Of Chic in 1881.
EARTHQUAKES. the most disastrous Of ca
tastrophes. are quite common. II is esti-
mated that fully a dozen Of them, more or
less destructive 10 life and property,
occur every year, and that the surface Of
the globe is never free from their con-
tinued operations. When serious,
whole cities have been de-
stroyed and fertile districts laid
waste. 1t IS estimated that recorded
earthquakes have cost the lives of fully
13,000,O00 human beings. 10000 persons
persisted by the famed Lisbon shock, and
in the Calabrian earthquake, near the close
Of the last century. 10000 lives were lost.
Earthquakes often change the whole
topography Of localities. Egypt has been
singuIarlv free from their effects, but was
visited in l740 by a destructive one. The
effects Of the Lisbon earthquake extended
on one side as far as the Southern Shores
Of Finland. as far west as the
st. Lawrence. and We're felt in some Of the
islands Of the West Indies, an area of
over 100000 square miles. Assuming
that the earth's crust affected was but
twenty miles in thickness, 1jO,OOO,OOO
cubic miles Of solid matter were moved.
When the shock is near the shore or the
bed of the ocean, the earth wave is COM
municated to the seattle ocean swells,
retires from the beach, and giant wave
rolls in upon the land. At the Lisbon
earthquake the sea rose sixty feet at
CadiZ. The most satisfactory theory Of
these disasters attributes them to pulsa-
tiOns in the fluid matter below the earth's
crust propagated in waves of translation,
caused W tension of elastic matter, and
floating forward on its surface the super
imposed rocky crust Of the earth.
The island of Ischia, the scene Of the
last disaster. Is about eight miles south
west of the Neapolitan coast. 1t is seven
miles long and four broad, and contains
about twenty-siX square miles, being
about two and a half times as large as
the District Of Columbia. Near its
centre Mount EpomeO, an extinct
volcano, rises to the height
Of 1900 feet. The soil is very fertile,
Welding superior wine, figs. corn and
other products. sulphur abounds, and the
mineral springs are sought by many sum-
meri visitors Casamicciola was situated
at the foot of Mt. EpOmeo. and had
population of 1858 souls. ForiO was
beautifully situated, had a fine harbor
and mineral baths. and population of
6.794. LaccO was situated in the north
western part of the island, and had
population Of I. 593. The government has
taken prompt action in the premises, but
il will he several DAYS ere the full
extent of the catastrophe can be learned.
Three thousand lives are reported to have
been lost. and the number Of the wounded
must have been large. Relief movements
have been organized throughout Italy.