The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1896-07-15
The Japanese Tidal Wave.
Narrowing Details of the
Most Fr1ghtful Catastro-
phe of Recent Years.

SAN Francisco. July 12-The To-
kio correspondent of the United Press
writing under date of June 26, thus
graphically describes the devastation
wrought by the seismic wave which re,
gently visited the northeast coast OF
Japan.
Japan has been visited by calamity
Of almost unprecedented magnitude.
On the 18th Of June. at halt-pass 8
O'Clock in the evening. seismic wave
struck the northeast coast of the main
island throughout a distance OF f. about bout
200 miles, and in FIVE minutes ~ ,0oo
neonle were killed and 5000 houses
DESTROYED. That is the whole story.
ANY one san identify the locality OF
the disaster by glance at the map OF
Jspan. From the island Kinka-San,
on the south, to Hachinoye, on the
north, the coasts Of Rikusen aud Rku-
aim provinces assumes distinctly con-
yex shape. Throughout the whole OF
this bow-like area. nearly every town
and every village was visited oy the
wave. the portion between Motoyosh'
and Yamada suffering most severely.
The general direction OF the wave
appears to have been north BY east, for
after carrying devastation to the shore
of rho main island it left Yezo in the
west, touching that island at Yerlno
Cape only.
In the case of ipundations, cyclones or
even earthquakes, there is record OF
more or less continuous mischief, and
more or less successful struggle against
the forces of destruction but In the
case of seimic waves, one tremendous
blow accomplisbes the whole clamity 10
an instant.
At half-past 8 O'clock the inhabitants
Of numerous towns and hamlets along
the coast were celebrating the "Boys
Festival" on the fifth day of the fifth
moon, according to the old calendar !;
at twenty-five minutes before 9, 3o,0OO
of them had been swept out TO sea o.
thrown dead upon the shore, and 5000
of their homes had disappeared or lay
wrecked.
: There was nothing to presage the
disaster. From II in the forenoon
until 4 80 in the afternoon heavy rain
fell. It was followed by fine evening
and a dark. calm night. There is
much difficulty in obtaining perfectly
accurate statements as to the time of the
phenomepa that preceded the final catas-
srophe they were too Insignificant to
seem worth recording. Several ac-
counts agree, however, that about ]
O'Clock three or four shocks of earth
quake were fels, not violent shocks.
though of the vertical kind that folks
in japan have learned to dread. The
barometer gave, at the time, no lndlca-
tion of anything unusual. Some
twenty or twenty-five minutes later a
booming sound became audible from
the direction of the sea. 1t appears to
have been variously interpreted. Some
construed 1t as the noise of coming
gale; others supposed that huge
school Of sardines had reached the
oaipg. Only few suspected the real
significance Of the sound and Aed iulaod
at the too of their speed. Rapidly the
noise increased until it assumed the
volume and deafening din of great
park of artillery and then, in moment
waves from 20 to 80 feet high we're
laundering against the shore. The
places where the actual totals cf the
deaths reached the highest figures were
not always those that suffered most 10
proportion to their population. Of the
three prefectures visited by the wave
Iwate. Miyagi and Aomori-lwate had
by far the largest aggregate of disss-
tiers, its list Of dead amounting to 70.
600. Some of the details, however,
convey more graphic idea of the facts
than any general statement can sug-
gest."
Kamaishi is little seaside town,
situated at the head of a rocky inlet
two miles deep and directly facing the
Pacific Ocean. Benind it is preclpl-
tous hill. The inhabitants seem to
have remained until the last wholly uo-
conscious Of what was pending. At a
little after in the evening mountain Of
sea was observed pilipg itself up at the
mouth of the inlet and iu a moment,
With thunderous roar, waves thirty
feet high swept over the town. Three
times the avalanches Of water rushed
forward, the first iucomparab!y the most
terrible. and in less than two minutes
the town was virtually annihilated,
Out of 1928 dwellings only l43 re-
NAMED standing, aod out of popula-
ton of 6.557 death bad overtaken
4,70O and 500 lay wounded. In CON-
pletuess of destruction this record heads
the (ist