The Washington herald., 1922-11-14
new EARTH SHOCKS
ADD TO HORROR OF
CHILEAN DISASTER
Warships, Laden With
Supplies, Rushed to
Aid of Victims.

SANTIAGO. Chile. Nov. 1s.-war-
ships OF the Chilean navy and ali
other possible agencies have been
mobilized to save thousands Of
earthquake victims from starva-
tion. Continued earth rumbiings
add to the terror of survivors.
Details trickling In from the coast
cities which were battered by the
quake and then engulfed In series
Il tidal waves afford an idea OF the
real horrors OF the catastrophe.
Between 1.400 and 1900 persons
are believed to have been killed.
thousands have been injured and
cities have been razed. Graves were
torn open and bodies thrown cut,
spreading pestilence.
Chile's super -warship, Latorre.
left Monday afternoon for Coquimbo.
carrying tents, food, clothinf and
medical supplies. Later other war
.essels departed. carrying govern
ment officials. who will assume di-
rection of the rescue work and re-
construction.
With the exception of docks. rail-
way works and a few business
houses the destroyed buildings for
the most part were adobe. There
fore the property losses may be less
than at first supposed. The death
list, however. according to all relia-
BILE reports, will exceed thousand
men, women and children.
Waves Move BuildIngs.
Small boats and steamers were
swept by the tidal waves into the
streets of Coquimbo and wrecked.
Big buildings were moved three
meters-nearly ninety feet-by the
impact of the great walls of water
which surged up in :he series of
-idal waves. II is the worst disaster
in South America In fifty years
Rail communication is cut off ir
many places. impeding the work OF
rushing in food supplies. Only one
telegraph line Is intact to the north
frantic calls for food are being
brought in by courier
What is most feared now Is that
the seismic disaster will be fol-
lowed by pestilence:
Deaths seem to have been great
st 1T Vallenar. where $50 are re-
ported killed. Vallenar and Copiapo
were totally destroyed. Starvation
is facing the survivors of these
three cities. Injured are being
treated in the streets and left in the
open to moan and writhe in their
agony. because there Is no place
to take them.
Graves Torn Open.
.
| the worst of the shock. but where
some were killed. the worst earth
rent occurred on the site of the
| local cemetery. Hundreds of corpses
were thrown from their graves
| spreading the danger OF infec-
| tion.
| A dispatch from La Serena said
that between 500 and 700 are dead
as result of the quake in that
vicinity. Various dispatches from
,ther parts Of the north indicate
like number were killed in VAL
lenar, Copiapo. Huasco and the in
land villages. making an approx
innate total of 1.4G0 dead. with ad-
Iitional deaths each hour. Women
and children naturally were mum
bered among the quake sufferers
in the northern towns. and ap-
parently more were killed than
men.
Scientists are speculating on the
cause of the quake. many attribut.
ing il to sun spots.
1t came at midnight. after a day
of terrific heat. The Pacific OceaT
| fer 800 miles along the North Chile
coast appears to have been rent
| along the bottom. Then the great
| tidal wave swept in. Rushing VI
across the land. battering down ev.
| erything in its path. the mountain
Gus sea receded after a few minutes
| dragging humans, houses, over
turned vessels and a great mass Of
| debris in the undertow.
The huge wave. perhaps the great
est that ever spread over the Pacific
.'eached. Honolulu in one direction
! and Africa in the other. At least
| this is the cause attributed by sci
| entists for the small tidal wave
early Sunday on the gold coast o.
! the Gulf of Guiana.