People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 November 1893 — HUNDREDS SLAIN. [ARTICLE]

HUNDREDS SLAIN.

The Earthquake in Persia Finds at Least 1,000 Victims. London, Nov. 23. —A special dispatch to the Times from Meshed brings further details of the earthquake that occurred Friday at Kuchan, in the northern part of the province of Khorassan. The town was completely destroyed and the loss of life was immense. Great crevasses were opened in the earth through which water flowed in torrents, causing the Atreck river to overflow its banks. The fertile region around the city was inundated and the large gardens and extensive vineyards were swept out of existence. The people of Kuchan had no chance to save anything. The shock was so severe that the largest houses in the town, including the residence of the governor, were almost instantly toppled over, crushing hundreds of people to death. The town had a population of between 20,000 and 25,000 persons, and it is thought that at least 1,000 perished. Many persons were carried away by the flood that flowed down the valley. It is not known yet what damage was done in the valley, but it is feared that many of the villages below Kuchan have been destroyed. A short time after the disturbance the entire water supply of the town disappeared.