The Robesonian. [volume] (Lumberton, N.C.) 1870-current, 1908-12-31
EARTHQUAKES FEARFUL
WORK.
Southwest Italy Devastated
Worst Catastrophe That Coun-
try has Known in Many Years
Tidal Wave Follows Shocks.
Rome, Italy, Dispatch, 28th.

$NA w ~ - NAAO " - SAAN~AAoS
Rome, Italy. Dispatch, 28th
The threeprovinces of Cosenza,
Catanzaro and Reggie Di Gala
bria, comprising the department
of Calabri, which forms the
Southwestern extremity of Italy,
or "the toe of the boot" were
devastated today by an earth
quake, the far-reaching effects
of which refeltalmostt through
out the entire country.
The town of Messina, in Sicily,
was partially destroyed, and |
Catania was inundated.
In Messina hundreds of houses
have fallen and many persons
have been killed. Owing, how
ever, to the fact that telegraphic
and telephone communications
were almost completely Destroy
ed, it is impossible to obtain even
an approximate idea of the vast
damage done.
The fate of entire regions
within the zone of the earth
quake is unknown but reports
received here up to a late hour
tonight indicate that the havoc
has been great and the destruc-
ton to life and property more
terrible than Italy has expert
enced in many years. The un-
certainty of the situation for
many thousands has filled all
Italians with the deepest distress,
for they still have fear that the
day may come when that part
of the country, which seems to
have been most blessed by nature
will be destroyed by the blind
forces of that same nature which
nearly 19 centuries ago over
whelmed Pompeii and Herculan-
cum.
All reports show that the pres
ent catastrophe embraces a lar
ger area than the earthquake in
1905.
The tidal wave which followed
the earthshocks on the eastern
coast of Sicily sank vessels and
inundated the lower part of
Catania. 1t is known that a
number of people were killed at
that place, but the rushing waters
carried everything before them
and caused such an indescribable
confusion that it will be impos-
sible for some time to estimate
the damage and the lives lost.
For a period the town of Mes
sina and the whole province of
Reggie were completely isolated
through Interruptions to the tele-
graph and telephone and land
slides that obstructed the rail
ways. Absolutely nothing was
heard from Reggie through
out the day, while the first news
from Messina same in the form
of a dispatch which a torpedo
boat, flying at full speed along
the coast of the Peninsula, car
ried from point to point, always
) finding the wires down, until i
reached Nicotera, where the tele
! graph lines were found to be in
, tact.
The Italian government pro
l ceeded energetically to reliev
4 the far-spread distress, concen
T trating at the points of creates
need, troops and engineers
0 Members of the Red Cross wer
3 dispatched to various places, an
z camps with provisions were i'm
Z mediately prepared, all availabl
l railway lines and warships bein
4 used for their transport.
# The city of Messina has su:
|. fered probably more than an
other place, the latest inform;
ton coming indirectly from tn;
quarter stating that two-thirC
= of the town was destroye
and several thousand person
killed. The steamers Washing
, ton and Montebello which we
in the harbor, later proceeded
> Satanic, loaded with injured wi
were so stupifed by terror tn
they seemed unable to reali
what had happened, simply sa
ing that it looked as though Il
end of the world had come. Fl
~ steamers left Catania for Me
oo5 sina to assist in removing t
80 injured from that place, who a
81 reported to number thousands.
10 At Catania, the panic strick
5e people, fearing new shocks, q
'solutely refused to re-enter the
On houses and are campingS on t
% squares which are free from W
% ter and the surrounding countl
. The tidal wave sank five hundr
Sc boats there and did great dana
to large number of vessels a
steamers including the Austri
steamer Buda.
, Not only did Catania suf
from the effects of a tidal We
but a similar body Of water
e undated the handsome streets
Messina which flank the harb
\ covering them with thick la
- of mud which rendered more {
fcult the succoring of the wou
ed, many of whom could be s.
, lying under the Wreckage.
IO' President-elect Taft has de,
ed to visit Texas at some cow
iont time after his inaupI1rati