Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-06-24
RUIN WROUGHT
BY EARTHQUAKE;
SEVERAL DEATHS
Imperial Valley Is Severely
Shaken and MexicaIi Is Al
most Laid in Ruins; Half
dozen Persons Killed.

fny noRnlso JOURNAL SPECIAL lstsro wiasI
III Centre. cal, June 23.--ln an
area extending roughly from the
shoulder of the Cocopah mountains
of Lower California to san Bernar-
dino and Needles on the north, Yuma
on the east ana san Diego on the
west, n series Of earthquakes last
night and today wrought damage now
estimated at about 100000, killed
half dozen men and women, and
injured perhaps score, none seri-
ously. The tremors continued inter-
mttently to-day, decreasing steadily
in strength and doing only negligible
damage.
The zone in which the tremblers
were felt in Calexieo and Mexicali.
the Mexican town opposite, in Lover
California, was where the free revelry
OF a frontier collection Of saloons and
dance halls halted when the first
shock put out the lights and there all
the fatalities occurred. Then men
and women killed were crushed be-
meath the adobe walls Of dance hall
as the visitors fled panic stricken to
the street. so far as can be. ascer-
tanned. the Alamo wasteway, connect
ed with Sharps heading. a controlling
unit In the $5.000.OO0 Imperial valley
irrigation system, was severely dam
aged The heading itself and other
important units in the system with
stood the shocks although assures
opened in the ground around them
and unless further puakes render one
of the headings useless there will bs
no lack of water, il is said. for the
10000 acres Under cultivation are
dependent entirely upon the vast
network OF canals and laterals.
The water may be shut off Mt Han
Ions heading near where the Colo
RADIO river enters the irrigation sys-
tenn southwest of Yuma, in order to
repair the damage TO the wasteway
but if 1t is, engineers do not believe
the water will be shut off for more
than thirty-six hours.
Rebuilding Begins.
Rebuilding has already begun. In
this city where an entire block of the
business section was ruined, gangs of
men were at work today clearing the
debris. At CaleXico similar work was
in progress. The damage here was
at close to 100000. The
loss at Calexico is estimated at some
thing less than that.
Several fires at Caleyico added to
the damage done there by the quakes
which threw the municipal water
tank Off its sixty foot tower last night.
The collapse of the tower deprived
the town of water pressure and ham
pered efforts at fighting the fires
which burned several residences and
Two business buildings.
North of lei Centre the damage
was comparatively light. Imperial,
Brawley and the towns further up the
valley suffered only slightly. AT Yuma
md Needles the vibrations We're fee
bic while they were barely percept-
bile at san Bernardino. sixty miles
IrQm Los Angeles No damage was
lone anywhere outside of the valley
several Lives Lost.
Communication with Calexico was
entirely dependent today upon auto
mobiles and railroad trains. Tele-
graph headquarters there were in a
damaged by the quakes and
messages were sent here for trans
mission. Meagre reports thus brought
stated that six or seven men and
Vomon had been killed at MeXicali
md that the bodies of two men had
leen taken from the debris and iden- |
ihed, The names given were Bert
and James stencil Ar |
buckle is said TO have come from Los |
Angeles.
Strict guard was established in the
farious towns affected as soon as the /
luakes began. Fifty special deputies
were sworn in here and at CaleXico a
roop of cavalry which have been pa |
rolling the border kept order and
protected property. Across the line,
Colonel Estaban Cantu, the Mexican |
established martial law
n MaXicali, his soldiers patrolling the |
lebris-littered streets and guarding |
he ruins of gambling houses where |
players. when they heard the run,h- |
ing which preceded the shock, pre-
,ipitately abandoned their tables, lou-
cite Wheels and gold, and sped for
he exits.
This little town, perched upon the /
rink of the great fissure cut across |
0untry by the Colorado river ten |
ears ago when it swept away leyees |
nd created the Salton sea, was in a |
orry plight today Its adobe houses |
ousing saloons and gambling dens, /
we're mostly demolished. Wooden !
in many instances held to-
ether, but daylight showed their
lue, gray. pink and white false
ronts" standing askew. Several film
y structures that withstood last
lights shocks went down under the I
evere quake that occurred at 10 |
clock this morning. This quake was
cit severely at Calexico also, and pill
lrs that supported the arcades erect
d to protect the sidewalks from the
rdent summer sun, collapsed
Mexican officials employed by A.
:. Andrea. the receiver of the Cali
ornla Development company's prop
rty in Lower California, inspected thsl
lain canal today and all the head-
lgs They reported Sharp's heading |
till intact, but found great fissures
. earth all around it. This heading
ontrols the entire irrigation system
I the Imperial valley. If it or the
lamo waterway, which acts as Il Sow
rnor and preventer of overflow, were
> break the entire valley would be
'ithout a water supply The flow in
II of the hundreds of miles of canals
nd laterals is controlled at this head
~ but engineers of the California
development company reported to the
merican receiver, W. II. Holabird Of
os Angeles that there was no dan
or of a failure of the system unless
lore tremblers, ms severe as the
hooks of last night occurred.
In view of this the ranchers of the
alley who with their families passed
list night in the open, apprehensively
the strength Of each tremor
1day, and eagerly sought word of the
rigation engineers with respect to