Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-24
A GREAT CALAMITY.
The Recent Earthquake in Japan
Rendered 100000 Homeless.
THOUSANDS OF LIVES ARE LOST.
Cities and Temples Are Demolished by the
Shocks or Burned
EXPERIENCE OF TRAIN PASSENGERS


longed shock of earthquake occurred Octo'
Der 2S, few minutes before o'clock in the
morning 1t was the severest experienced
since the terrible catastrophe of 1856, and
must be ranked as a national calamity. The
greatest damage TO buildings and loss of life
occurred in the prefectures Of Gitu and
Achy, in which nearly 1000 people were
killed outright and 4, 1000 seriously wounded.
In those two prefectures 4, 900 houses were
totally destroyed. The number of provinces
throughout which the disturbances were
strongly felt is 81. The center seems TO
have been in Mino and Arows, but even as
lar south as Higo and Rikushu in the north
the disturbance was sensibly felt
The destruction of 10000 houses means
that 200, 900 people are rendered homeless.
Up TO November 8 the earthquakes still
continued TO be felt but with intervals be-
tween them. The intensity of the shocks
gradually diminished.
Over One Shock Every Two Minutes.
From the commencement of the disturb
ance up to that date it is estimated that
5000 shocks, or more than one every two
minutes, were felt. The town of Gifu on
the Tokaido Railway, with population of
$1,000, was almost entirely destroyed.
Thirtv-ive hundred out of total of q, 400
houses in the town were overthrown or
burned Seven hundred and forty-fve peo-
pie were killed in the town of Kano, where
600 houses were overthrow. One hundred
neople were killed in the town of Oeaki
and 8 500 houses were overthrown. Two
thousand houses burned and 200 people
were killed in another place. Many sur
vivors were so terror-stricken that they
could only stand vacantly staring at the
scene of destruction.
At Inchoynama and Kyoseu the people
have managed to save a few mats and were
preparing to pass the night in the open
fields. The villages were a waste of fallen
houses which the flames were rapidly de-
vouring. Throughout the day and night
the work of carrying the wounded to
Nagoya proceeded.
The Shocks OF the Vertical Kind.
The inhabitants of the ruined towns de-
scribe the shock as conveying an impression
that the houses were first raised and then
suddenly lowered through space of from
two to three feet
The fact that there was a marked sub
sidence of the eartl's surface for a consid-
latter town was the center of disturbance.
Shortly after the shock had leveled thou
sands of houses in the town, and hundreds
of people were living buried in the debris,
flames burst from the ruins of q silk factory
and in a short time spread to such an extent
that citizens were compelled TO desist in
their work of digging out the wounded and
dying. This conhagration burned out in
one direction, but three other fires imme-
dately broke out, and, joining into one,
swept from street to street, being famed by
q s.r0ng northwest wind which began TO
blow at o'clock in the afternoon. BY in
The evening almost every part of the town
OF Gifu was wrapped in fire, and the inhab-
itsnts, abandoning all hope of staying the
flames, saved what few articles they were
able and fed the town, taking refuge in the
woods and on hillsides..
Students and Convicts Fighting Fire.
The police, aided by normal school stu
dents and so prisoners from the Jail, fought
fire throughout the night, but it was not sub
dued until the forenoon of October 2S, when |
il had been burning for % hours, and almost |
the whole town had been burned over.
PotterieS in the prefectures of Dwarf and |
Mino, great ceHters of the porcelain manu-
iacture In Japan, at Seto and other towns,
were almost entirely destroyed, and there is
reported to be no prospect of resuming the |
industry during the present year
The top of the scared mountain of Fusi- |
yama has been rent asunder for ], 200 feet in
width and 600 feet in depth. Much of the |
destruction of houses is attributed to poor
material entering into the construction of |
brick and stone buildings, and the excessive
weight of their roofs Well-built wooden !
buildings suffered but little, except as to
plaSterng and tiled roofs.
Up ard down trains on the Tokaido Rail |
way were Just meeting at Gifu station, the |
center of the seismic disturbance, when the |
first shock occurred. The shock was ac-
companied by a rumbling and the move
lnent was so violent that the passengers |
slipped from the seats and were thrown into |
? state of great alarm, believing that a col |
lision had taken place.
Large Fissures Opening and Closing
From the windows, however, they beheld |
the station in ruins, and the water in |
neighboring pond being dashed violently |
from side 20 side. The rumbling movement |
continued, and large cracks from two to |
three feet wide were observed opening and |
closing in all directions, volcanic mud and |
ashes being thrown from some of them. SO |
numerous were these assures that TO step in |
anv direction threatened destruction, and |
The passengers dared not to leave the train. |
Passengers who made their way into Gitu |
found immense heaps of ruins of fallen |
houses, while others were so disloeated that /
each succeeding tremor threw some of them |
down, as if crushed by descending weight |
In almost every house some unfortunstes |
had been buried, and their chances of escape |
were greatly diminished by fires which |
broke out in many places.
1t was ascertained that the railway line |
mad been too much damaged in both direc-
tiOns to allow OF further progress of trains, |
and the passengers, accordingly, were COM
PEELED to make their way on foot to neigh
boring towns The roads were almost i'm /
passible by reason Of assures and landslides,
and no conveyances were to be had.
Other Cities Found in Ruins.
Proceeding from Gifu to Kano, the latter
place was found wholly in ruins. Not a
house remained upright. The town of Kas-
amatsu Jared like kano, every dwelling be-
ing mass Of debris. Everywhere surviv-
ors were found to be digging out dead and
and fighting against confagrations
that broke out on all sides. The shock ey-
perienced at Ogoki was so severe that
scarcely ! sound house was left standing,
except the castle, which, despite its 400
wears. stood the shock remarkably well.
Gobo temple, belonging to the Shin Sen
Society Of Buddhists, was crowded with
worshippers, it being the anniversary of the
death of Shirran, the founder of the sect.
The temple fell, burying at least so people,
The ruins took fire and the shrieking vic
Tins were consumed before the eyes of the
Mortified onlookers
The town of Nagerio escaped lightly in
with the region west of there,
Gifu, Cgaka and Kicto. Slight
shocks were felt at Nagerio on the night of
October %. On Wednesday morning 40