Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-01-15
WORSE THAN mEss1NA."

i s
Worse than Messina."
Thus do early newspaper dispatches sum
marize the tale of Haly's latest earthquake
horror.
4 II. loss of life and in extent of country shat
tered by the terrific throes of seismic travail,
the disaster is believed to out-rival terrible
Messina-and the earthquake of Messina is the
worst of which history holds any record
Much of the section of Italy now strick-
en- suffered in the Messina temblor. Lipari,
Cassano and other districts suffered almost as
did Messina and the island of Sicily.
Graphic descriptions have been secured of
the Messina earthquake. A little after 5 in
the morning of December %, 1908, the air was
filed with sparks and flashes of fame. Then
suddenly the ssearth seemed to drop and then
came The earthquake, lasting % seconds. =
Its results were awful beyond description.
In Messina men and women we're hurled from
houses like drops of water from shaken
boughs At Reggia a chasm so feet wide
opened to unknown depths and from it gushed
food of boiling water, scalding large num-
bers of people. To the horror of the quake
was soon added tremendous tidal wave. The
sea first seemed to recede from the land and
then through the narrow Straits of Messina the
wave poured with terrible violence. Estimates
have placed its height at IS feet. The wreck
Of tie entire coast line was the result, whole
villages being wiped out The famous whirl-
pool If Clarybdis, noted in mythology, changed
its position. The Lipari islands in the Medi-
t6rf8nean, near Sicily, with population Of
2soQ0 disappeared, sinking beneath the
Fire and pestilence followed the earthquake
and tidal wave. &
The loss Of life has been placed as high as
100000 but has been conservatively estimated
Ct 10000 The population Of Messina, Reggie
and Palmi were almost entirely destroyed.
About 10000 persisted in Messina, 10000 In
Reggie, 10000 in Palmo and many other towns.
lost from 100 to 1000.
Among the earthquakes attended with great
losso life, history records the following:
Antioch, 526' Al. D., 100000 killed; Yeddo,
17o3, 900 600; Lisbon, 1881, 100000
Recent earthquakes of note we're those of
ST. Pierre, Martinique, 1902, $4,000 killed;
North India, 1905, 10000; Kingston, Jamaica,
1901. 1000; San Francisco, 1906, 1000; the
shock IN Formosa and destructive temblor in
1909 ii Persia.
Italy has been visited many times by severe
earthquakes and every section has suffered at
some time The ruins bear eloquent tribute to-
the Irresistible power that rends the earth s
crust and makes human strength and~man' s
works puny and impotent
In very many cases of great public disaster
the extent Of the loss Of life and destruction
were underestimated on the first day. Most OF
the Italian earthquakes have been so under
estimated The Galveston food and the earth
quake and fire in San Francisco furnish two
recent examples of great tragedies in the
United States of whose extent the first reports
gave small Indication
1.-THE earthquake of Avezzano is :. worse than
Nessina,n it is terrible indeed. The loss OF
life Viii run upwards Of 100000. The property
loss : now inestimable. Since large part of
the district worst stricken is agricultural
country, there is hope that the destruction of
property is less. in proportion than the number
of deaths ordinarily would indicate. Late re-
ports today also give hope that the loss OF life
5; II he much less than In 1908.