Evening star., 1915-01-14
Scene Of Earthquake.


city the people fled from their houses
| into the open air.
| Scene of Earthquake.
! Avezzano, the town from which the
! greatest number of casualties have
| been reported as the result Of the
| earthquake, lies in the province Of
Aguila, in the AbruzLi department,
sixty-three miles east of Rome and a
| short distance from the base of Mount
| Velino. 1t Is an ancient town and had
! population of some 10000. one OF
the well preserved buildings there was
the lowered castle built by Gentle
Virginia Orsino in 1880.
Most of the towns in which damage
has been done are situated virtually in
the heart Of Italy. in a line running
eastward toward the Adriatic sea. The
country in the province of Rome and
the department of the Abruzzi is most
ly mountainous. but thickly populated.
Numerous villages and towns dot the
territory.
Monte Rotondo has a population of
about 5000. 1t was here in 1867 that
Garibaldi defeated the papal forces. At
Tivoli, where one person is said to
have been killed. there is a population
of some $4,000. 1t lies eighteen miles
northeast of Rome and retains many
of the antiquities of the old Roman
days. among them the Temple OF IT,
berius and the Villa D'Este, celebrated
for the beauty of it's architecture. Pofi
is village of some 1000 Inhabitants.
Zargorollo. Palfano, Vercli, Pereto.
Poggio. Native and the other places
where damage or fatalities are report
ed, all are small towns.
Many Earthquakes in Italy.
Italy in past years has had numerous
visitations from earthquakes in which
thousands of persons have perished
and from which millions Of dollars Of
property damage has resulted.
1t fell to the lot of Italy to suffer
what probably was the greatest dis
aster from earthquake that the world
ever saw. This was in December, 1908,
when in Sicily and Calabria 76,4S3 per-
sons were killed. 95.470 injured and
100000 made homeless. In this dis
leta and Faro in Sicily and Reggie, San
Giovanni, San Ufemia. Calico. Palmi,
Pellaro and Cannitello in Calabria were
destroyed.
The financial loss never was accu-
rately computed, but it ran into many
Up to the time Of this catastrophe the
earthquake at Lisbon, Portugal, in 1855,
which cost $4,000 lives. caused the
greatest number Of casualties.
1905 Worst Period.
Nineteen hundred and six was the
worst period for seismic disturbances
on record. It was during this time that
great disasters occurred the world over
The destruction of San Francisco and
Valparaiso and the razing Of eighteen
villages in Calabria occurred in the
spring and summer Of 1906. The prov
Iro Nf =
shaken in the following January and a
great tidal wave followed. drowning
many persons and devastating the city
of Esmeraldas. Colombia also suffered
in this disturbance, about 800 persons
being killed
A month and half later. on the
Island of Formosa, the village Of Kagi
and three other towns were destroyed
with the loss of thousands of lives and
material damage estimated at $45.-
000, 1000. A month later Kagi again was
visited. with additional loss OF life and
much property damage.
San Francisco Disaster.
Then followed the San Francisco dis
aster.. in which 500 were killed and
$4,000 made homeless, with a property
loss of $500, 100000. A few months lat
er Valparaiso was destroyed by earth
shocks and a confagration. Two thou
sand Inhabitants were killed and a
monetary loss Of $250.00e.000 resulted.
Within four days from the first earth
shock the region for hundreds Of miles
around Valparaiso was visited by asa
quakes, In which the towns Of Los
Andes and Melippilla. with an aggre-
gate population OF 1900. were destroy
ed with their Inhabitants. Santiago.
Chile, lost IS persons killed and suffer-
ed $1.500.000 damage, while the towns
of vina del Mar. Quirihue. Lfnache and
Quillota, with a total of $4,000 inhabit-
ants. were completely destroyed.
Later in the same year there were
disturbances in Porto Rico, German
New Guinea and again in Chile.
In 1907 came the disaster to King
ston. Jamaica, in which over 1000 lives
were lost and $25.000.000 damage was
done. Cartaee, Costa Rica, lost $500
lives in 1910 from an earthquake. and
in Turkey In 1919 5000 persons per-
ished, while 10000 were made homeless
in q similar disaster.
Last year Sakura. Japan, was visited
by an earthquake and the eruption Of a
volcano, which caused much property
damage, but did not result in q large
loss Of life. Last May in Sicily 200 per-
sons were killed and 1000 injured.