Evening star., 1946-12-22
Quake
Continued From First Page.)

second only to Tokyo, has 3,250,0OC
population.
British Army officers said field re-
ports indicated their occupation
area on Shikoku, one of the southern
main home islands, was hardest hit
by the quake but they were unable
to confirm earlier reports that a
British soldier was missing.
The new reports spread the pic
ture Of devastation far beyond the
original scene, with deaths reported
in Gifu prefecture. 130 miles west
of Tokyo, and to the north of Gifu
in Ishikawa prefecture, on Honshu S
western coast.
Others occurred more than 45O
miles southwest of Tokyo in the sea-
side prefecture of Oita, which is on
Kyushu at the west end of the In
land Sea. The Inland Sea itself
became funnel for the force of the
seismic waves and damage was heavy
on both its north and south shores.
229 Dead on Shikoku.
American and Japanese relief
teams rushed into the disaster zone,
fearful that the death toll might
rise from the tidal wave and earth
shock. which was described officially
as five times greater than the one
which killed $4,000 persons in the
Tokyo area in 1923.
More than "a hours after the
quake trains, telephones and tele-
graph still were out to the two
main stricken zones, Wakayama
Peninsula of Southern Honshu and
the eastern shores of adjacent
Shikoku Island.
The United States Army, with
reports still far from complete, said
at least 229 Japanese perished on
Shikoku, and SO were dead on the
main island of Honshu, which
escaped most of the seas tidal
wrath.
These did not take into account
further japanese reports of casual
ties. Mr.. White reported from
Osaka that Avail, in the stormy
seas path and where casualties
we're feared TO be heavy, still was
isolated.
Death and destruction also spread
into the Inland Sea area, and new
est Army reports said A we're
known dead in the city of Okayama,
on the north shore 80 miles west
of Osaka.
Twenty were reported killed at
Matsuyama, IS miles southwest of
Okayama and on the opposite side
of the Inland Sea.
An additional 27 persons perished
at Saidaiji, a few miles east of
Okayama. These were the first re-
ports of death in that area, al
though quake damage previously
had been reported.
Rail Line Washed Out.
Okayama reported 884 buildings
were destroyed and more than 1000
were damaged, but the prefecture
was in sufficiently good condition
to offer aid to neighboring stricken
prefectures. The main railroad line
was washed out five miles south Of
rOkayama.
The heaviest loss of life thus far
reported was on the low-lying East
ern shores of Shikoku.
The Army said 127 japanese per-
.ished, 1877 were injured seriously and
400 houses were destroyed in the
district of Kochi, which is the capl-
tai of the prefecture of the same
name on the Shikoku coast. The
Army feared five japanese were
buried alive there.
This is the same region where the
Army received reports yesterday
that 200 families had been wiped
out, giving rise to reports that per-
haps 1000 japanese had perished
in the quake wave disaster.
The British occupation force said
it's quarters were destroyed In the
Kochi district.
Farther north, at Takamatsu, on
the Shikoku or Southern shore of
the Inland Sea, So persons were
DEAD and 10 were injured seriously,