The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-07-18
THE JAPANESE CALAMITY.
Thirty Thousand People Killed in
Five Minutes.

SAN FgAxcIscO, July 12.-The Toxic cor
respondent of the United Press, writing under
date of June %, thus graphically describes
the seismic wave which recently visited the
northeast coast of Japan:
Japan has been visited by calamity of
almost unprecedented magnitude. On the
18th of June, at halfpast 8 O'Clock in the
evening, a seismic wave struck the northeast
coast of the main island, throughout distance
of about 200 miles, and in five minutes 10000
people were killed and $4,000 houses de-
stroyed. That is the whole story.
ANY one can identify the locality of the
disaster by a glance at the map of Japan.
From the island of Kinka-San, on the south
latitude 80 Is north, long. 141.30 east), to
Haehinoye, on the north latitude 4O.30 north,
long. 14i. 80 east, the coast of Rikuzen and
Rikushu provinces assumes distinctly CON
veX shape Throughout the whole OF this
bow-like area nearly every town and every
village was visited by the wave, the portion
between Motoyoshi latitude 3S. 40 north, long.
al % east and Yamada latitude 1928
north, long. 142 east) suffered most severely.
The general direction of the wave appears
to have been north by east, for, after carrying
devastation to the shore of the main island, 1t
left Yezo on the west, touching that island at
Yerimo Cape only.
In the case of foundations, cyclones, or
even earthquakes, there is y record OF more
or less continuous mischief and more or less
successful struggle against the forces OF de-
struction, but in the case of seismic wave one
tremendous blow accomplishes the whole
calamity in an instant.
At halfpast o'clock the inhabitants of
numerous towns and hamlets along the coast
were celebrating the "Boys' Festival on the
fifth day of the fifth month, according to the
old calendar. AT twenty-five minutes before
o'clock, 10000 of them had been swept out
to sea or thrown dead upon the shore, and
5000 of their homes had disappeared or lay
wrecked.
There was nothing to presage the disaster.
From | | in the forenoon until 4.30 in the af-
ternoon heavy rain fell. TWAS followed by a
fine evening and dark, calm night. There
is much difficulty in obtaining perfectly accu
rate statements as to the times of the phe-
nomena that preceded the final catastrophe;
they were too insignificant to seem worth re-
eording. Several accounts agree, however,
that at about O. clock three or four shocks of
earthquake were felt, not violent shocks,
though Of the vertical kind that folks in Japan
have learned to dread The barometer gave
at the time no indication 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 it as
the noise of coming gale, others supposed
that huge school of sardines had reached
the ofiing. Only very few suspected the real
significance of the sound and fled inland at
the top Of their speed. Rapidly the noise in
creased until it assumed the volume and deaf
ening din of great pack of artillery, and
then, in moment, waves from twenty to
thirty feet high were laundering against the
shore
The places the actual totals of deaths
reached the highest figures were not always
those that suffered most in proportion to their
population. Of the three prefectures visited
by the wave-Iwate, Miyagi and Aomori-
lwate had by far the largest aggregate of dis
asters, its list of dead amounting to 10000.
Some of the details, however, convey a more
graphic idea of the facts than any general
statement can suggest.
Kamaishi is little seaside town, situated
at the head of rocky inlet, two miles deep
and directly facing the Pacific ocean. Behind
it is a PERCEPTIONS hill. The inhabitants
seemed to have remained until the last, wholly
unconscious of what was pending. Alta little
after in the evening mountain OF sea was
observed piling itself up at the mouth of the
inlet and in moment with a thunderous
roar, waves thirty feet high swept over the
town.
Three times these avalanches of water
rushed forward, the first incomparably the
most terrible, and in less than two minutes
the town was virtually annihilated. Out of
1923 dwellings, only l43 remained standing,
and out of population Of 6557 death has
overtaken 400 and 500 lay wounded. In
completeness of destruction this record heads
the list.
Scarcely less appalling was the work of the
waves in bay some FIVE miles farther north
There, in tn village of Futaishi, only 100
persons escaped death out of population of
100, and only two houses out of as many hun
dreds remained standing. At Yamada 700
houses out of 900 were destroyed and 5000
persons were killed out of 1900. At Toni $50
houses were swept away out of 1853 and 1103
persons were killed and 50 wounded out of a
total Of 1906. In the Kissen district one town
and eleven villages attacked by the wave had
$3.50 persons killed and 1860 houses washed
away or wrecked.
At Hongo the whole hamlet of $50 houses
was annihilated, and the sole survivors were
a party of men that happened to be playing
'.gon in temple situated on high ground
Such are the tales of death and ruin that
come from place after place. the terrible totals
at this moment of writing being 29,0Ts killed,
773T wounded and 1874 houses washed away
or wrecked.