II.
T0Z. XXIX
EARTHQUAKE IS
DISASTEROUS TO
SOUTHERN ITALY
DETAILC ONLY ADD TO HORROR
OF AWFUL
Tidal Wave t-iat Followed Tremors Swept Along the
Straits of Messina Drowning People in Helplessness
and Panic Flames Broke out Immediately After
ward and Countless Maimed and Wounded Victims
. Meet Awful Death by Fire
. Rome, Dec29. -One hundred
thousand dead; Messina, in Sic
ily, and Reggio and a score of
other towns in Southern Italy
overwhelmed; the entire Cala
brain region laid wa?te this is
the earthquake's record so far a3
is at present known from the re
ports that are coming slowly into
Rome on account of the almost
complete destruction of lines of
communication to the stricken
places.
. The death list in Messina rang
es from 12,000 to 50.000; that of
Reggio, with which its adjacent
, villages numbered 45,000 people,
including almost the entire ppm
k
?
DISASTER
is believed that navigation has
become exceedingly 'dangerous,
in which case the fortifications on
which the government in recent
years spent large sums will be
useless. The famous whirlpool
of Charybdis, it is said, has shift
ed Its position.
Desperate calls have been made
from Rome to Messina, but these
remain unanswered and fears are
entertained that Fort Spuria,
near Messina, has been destroy
ed a3 the wireless station install
ed there i3 one of the most pow
erful in Italy and is evidently not
working. The catastrophe has
excited the superstitions of the
entire populace who are running
about the country calling upon
Lj...at1''W
It I It ill - 11 1l
MOUNT AIRY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1909
ter of yesterday's terrestial mael
strom, was shaken to ruins,
Flames burst forth to complete
th city's destruction and to burn
alive numbers of hopelessly pin
ioned beneath fallen walls and
broken timbers.
The Strait of Messina was
shaken and twisted by the earth's
trembling, for mariners report
the channel altered beyond, re
cognition. The ports and vil
lagos on both the continental and
Sicilian sideo were wrecked or
inundated, and all lighthouses
along the coasts were swallowed
up. Navigation now is danger
ous and in some places impossi
ble. In the Calabrian district, which
was only beginning to recover
from the effect of the earthquake
of 1905, Reggio was the center of
the earth's upheaval. The sea
port of Reggio is reported as no
longer existing and the city prop
er is in ruins.
The less of life on both sidc3
of the strait and in Eastern Sicily
was enormous. One of the re
fugees from Reggio. who was the
first to bring the news of the
city's destruction, tried to make
his wav to Sicily in a sail boat,
but was compelled to return and
finally found safety at a peninsu
la port.
In describing his experience he
said:
"The, sea was strangely, pys
teriously agitated and the neav
cn3 were ablaze. Nearing Sicily
the clearing smoke revealed the
mystery; Messina was in flames.
" AW 'I
their warships quick as the flash
of the telegraph could carry the
orders to lend assistance to the
stricken cities. Relief funds have
already been started, and a hun
dred ships and trains are on their
way carrying supplies and rein
forcement to the south. Rome,
Milan, Florence, Naples and oth
er cities are sending physicians,
police and firemen. Today all
the ambassadors and 'ministers
expressed sympathy with M. Tit
toni, minister of foreign affairs,
whose emotion wa3 profound.
The bourses and theaters have
been closed throughout Italy, and
dispatches of sympathy continue
to pour in from all quarters of
the plobe.
At the time of the earthquake
the torpedo boat Sappho was ly
ing in the harbor at Messina and
one of thefficers told of the oc
currences as follows:
"At half past five in the morn
ing, the sea suddenly became
terribly agitated, seeming literal
ly to pick up our boat and shake
it. Other crafts near-by were
similarly treated and the ships
looked like bits of cork bobbing
about in a tempest. Almost im
mediately a tidal wave of huge
proportions swept across the
strait, mounting the coasts and
carrying everything before it.
Scores of ships were damaged
and the Hungarian mail boat An
drassy parted her anchors and
went crashing into other vessels.
Messina Bay was wiped out and
the sea was soon covered with
r.iasses of wreckage, which was
pour into the town. It seemed
that this must mean the end of
everything. The oncoming wat
ers rolled in a huge wave, ac
companied by a terrifying roar.
"The sky was aglow with the
reflection of burning palaces and
other buildings, and as if this
was not enough, there suddenly
shot up into the sky a huge burst
of flame, followed by a crash
, that seemed to shake the whole
town. This probably was the
gas works blowing up.
"Eventually we reached the
principal square of Messina.
Here we found two or three
thousand utterly terrified people
assembled. None of us knew
what to do. We waited in an
agory of fear. Men and women
prayed, groaned . and shrieked.
I saw one of the big buildings
fronting on the square collapse.
It seems to me, that scores of
persons were buried beneath the
ruins. Then I lost consciosness
and I remember no more."
Refugees are pouring intoCat
ania by trains, steamers and au
tomobiles. They are half naked
and stupefied with terror and
suffering. Some of them appear
almost insane from the horrors
through which they have gone.
In the beginning they could only
babble "Messina has been anni
hilated. rLittle by little some
idea of the tedescribable horrors
at Messina was obtained from
these unfortunates. They de
clare that thousands of demented
survivors are still wandering a- j
bout fiw tV
t .
NO. 2o
ployes have been accounted for.
same story Told By All.
"Many of those who suceeded
in escaping with their Imps are
incapable of relating their ex&jflj
iences coherently. I questions. ' "
all who were in a condition to
talk. Most of them told the same
story. They said the first thing
they knew they were thrown out
of bed, and amid crashing ceil
ings and falling furniture man
aged to make their way to the
street. Then in the blackness
of night and amid a pouring rain .
that added to their horror and
distress, they rushed ' blindly a
way amid the crash of rumbling
buildings and the shri' , and
groans of those buri i the
ruins. Many whilo trj J , io es
cape were struck down by fall
ing balconies and masonary, and
still many others lost their reas
on and are wandering aimlessly
in the open fields outside the
city or up and down the ruined
streets they knew so well.
"The looters and the robbers
were shot dead by the soldiers."
Messina and Catania, in Sicily,
are the two largest cities that
have suffered in tins earthquake.
Messina has a population of a-
bout 100.000, while Catania has
about 140,000 people. Messina
is on the west side of the Strait
of Messina, near the narrowest
part. Catania is south of Mes-
srv4 . on the east coast of the is.
lanQi
Reggio is the capital of the
province of Reekie dLDhhrK