The herald., 1896-07-23
THE EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN
Official Details Of the Awful
Disaster
THIRTY THOUSAND DEATHS
Almost q Hundred Thousand Houses
Swept Away
lsdescribsbIe Suffering Must Follow the De-
vsstation Of FIeids and Destruction Of
Fishermen's Implements
A Assoc,nted Press Special wire.


Associnted Press Special wire.
VANCOUVER, B. c., July 22.-The
Oficial Gazette contains the following
corrected statement of casualties in the
different. provinces Of Japan from the
seismic wave:
Iwato, 2S,30e deaths, 1896 wounded,
H,209 houses washed away or wrecked
MI Yagi. 1914 deaths, 776 wounded.
1896 houses washed away or wrecked.
Aomori. s46 deaths, 21S wounded, 465
houses washed away or wrecked.
Hokkaido, 6 deaths, wounded, rs
house washed away or wrecked.
Total, 26,s75 deaths, $500 wounded, TO-
lS5 houses washed away or wrecked.
The governor of Iwato makes the fol-
lowing official report:
ION the 18th inst. the weather was
misty in the morning and the thermom-
~ter fuctuated between so and 80 degrees
about ten degrees higher than ordinary
years. The people suffered much from
the unusual heat. but did not think 1t
particularly strange. the weather being
generally tickle in spring and in the
rainy seasdA. The 18TH, coinciding with
the May festival, according to the old
calendar a feast was held in every fam
lily, and the hours were passing merrily,
when at dusk repeated shocks OF earth
quake were felt, and about o'clock in the
evening sound as If made by the firing
of big cannon was heard in the direc-
tion of the sea, off the coast of Hiagishi
Hei district. Such a sound from the
sea not being uncommon, the inhabi--
tants did not pay much attention to it.
thinking 1t might be caused by the men
of-war practicing gunnery. Onl few
minutes had elapsed when seismic
wave suddenly rolled in with a most
terrible force. and towns and villages
along the coast over distance of It's
miles were inundated.
I'm a moment men, cattle, buildings
and ships were almost entirely swept
away so that the towns which had been
thickly populated only the day before
were turned into a sandy waste. The
corpses were piled in heaps, houses wera
completely wrecked, and the whole scene
presented a CHASTITY and heart-rending
aspect impossible to describe.
"It is reported that the wave, was as
high as eighty feet, and that. though
more or less variation occurred accord
irE to locality, the devastation and dam
age inflicted by the wave were most Sc
rious in places facing the southwest.
Strange to say, the fishermen plying
their trade about five miles off the coast
noticed only a mere slight swell and had
no suspicion of such catastrophe. AS
soon as reports of the calamity were re-
ceived, steps were taken to extend suc-
cor to the suffering people. The local
chiefs of the police were directed to
visit the scene of the disaster. and the
secretary of the prefect was dispatched
to Higashi Hei. counsellor to Kisem
and Hinami HE, and the chief tax col
lector to Kunohe. at Sa IT,
about thirty-three clerks and police
inspectors, together with thirteen po-
lice constables and 450 coolies, were
sent to the various afflicted districts to
succor sufferers, dispose of the remains
of the killed and to restore order.
"The neighboring towns and villages
that escaped unhurt offered the services
of their fire brigades and coolies, and
the number of working men available
together amounted to about 1000. The
disaster having proved fatal to many
medical practitioners living along the
coast, and the survivors having lost
their supply of drugs and instruments
the greatest difficulty was experienced
in extending sufficient aid to the suffer-
ers.
"A special correspondent Of Shagio
estimates the damage to boats and fish
ing gear that were washed away or
destroyed by the wave at 250000 yen in
Myiagi, $4,000 yen in Iwate, 90, 900 yen in
Aoymori, all in round numbers.
IF to these figures be added the dam
age to cultivated fields, to houses, and
the loss of other valuable property as
well as cash, the whole must reach
very large figure. The fishing industry
alone in each of the three districts
reaches a production Of II, 100000 yen
Q year, and this has been seriously Grip
pied, especially in Iwate. owing to the
destruction of the fishermen and their
implements.
"The question of relief is now engag-
ing the attention of the government,
but at last advices no definite scheme
had been decided upon. There is a re-
duction in the list of fatalities caused
by the finding of many people who were
carried to the neighboring houses"
LeadviI.e Labor Troubles