The Opelousas courier., 1896-10-24
WAVE OF DEATH.
EXPL NATION OF THE AWFUL
DISASTER IN JAPAN.
A Submarine Earthquake Was Fol
lowed by all Overwhelming Rush
of Water-3O,OOO People
Drowned.
NOUGH details of the terrible
H disaster in Japan have now
been received to give an up
proximately accurate idea o

been received to give an ap.
proximately accurate idea o!
ite extent and causes The tragedy
occurred on the evening of June Is,
while the people were still celebrating
1.-The Boys Festival" one OF their
time-honored fete days. In g few
minutes a wave twenty to forty feet
in height, resulting from Il submarine
earthquake. swept over about two
hundred miles Of the northeast coast
of Hondo, the largest island of the
Japanese archipelago, destroying all
the towns and hamlete, and drowning
or crushing to death over 10000 per-
sons. The scene of the disaster may
be easily recognized on the map, from
the fact that the devastated coast line
swells out into the eastern ocean in a
long, symmetrical curve, like q bent
bow. The part Of the wave that
struck the portion of the coast appar-
emily swept a little east of north in its
journey from the place of origin, and
it barely touched a ~promontory Of the
more %northerly island of Jesse.
The evidence indicates Enthusiastically
the causes that produced this great
calamity. II we pour water into a tin
dish and then strike the bottom Of the
dish q sharp upward blow We shall see
the water rise above the point OF i'm
pact and roll away in a circular wave.
Some time before the arrival of the
wave earthquake shocks were felt
along the coast. It is more than
probably that these shocks, originat-
ing under q track of the sea floor,
caused the great disturbance of the
sea. The mighty subterraneau i'm
ing rocks, would reach the coast some
time before the arrival Of the sea
wave, for an earth wave travels far
more rapidly than a wave of the ceen.
1t was found that the great earth
wave, originating q little west Of
Charleston, and which was felt in cur
streets a little later, travelled at the
rate of about $1,000 feet a second.
Other eastern coasts Of japan did
not share in the great calamity, though
doubtless some of them were just as
near the epicentral tract, OF place Of
origin OF the disturbance, because,
fortunately, they do not 50 completely
fill the conditions that rendered posi-
BILE the piling up OF the mountainous
wave. The convex shore that was de-
vastated pushes out far toward the
edge Of the submarine plateau on
which Japan rests. The shore line is
much nearer than any other part OF
Japan's coast to the precipitous Tus-
carora depths where, until last year,
the deepest ocean s~oundiugs had been
made. Lines OF soundings show that
the submarine slope from this convex
shore line to deep water is far sleeper
than among the more southerly coast.
Now, where this wave was formed it
may have been miles in width, but it
was not high. This has been SO in
other instances, and there is direct
proof in this case, for fishermen g few
miles from the shore, under whose
boats the wave certainly passed, OBJ
served nothing unusual, An enormous
mass of WAFER was liftsI by a mighty
impulse two or three feet above the
general level, md To wave movement
thus induced spreH rapidly from the
centre, DTs without.increase in height,
until it encqunteEta a steeply sloping
bottom. But ~4~:n entering this rapid
ly shoaling wae2r near the land the
wave was crow7ed into less space,
piled up and efew constantly higher
until it dashed upon the shore a tower
ing and irresistible mass.
Similar waves have been known to
rise as high as 200 feet, and submarine
earthquake waves that are believed to
have crossed the Pacific, meeting just
such conditions on the western coast
of South Africa, have inflicted enor-
nous damage. It is probable that
along the more southerly coasts of
Japan there were two or three waves
of more than ordinary height. but the
more gently sloping sea bottom gave
opportunity to retard the onward rush
Of the water mass, and no damage was
lone, New York Sun,