Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 94, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 August 1906 — HAVOC WROUGHT BY QUAKE. [ARTICLE]

HAVOC WROUGHT BY QUAKE.

Two of the largest cities of the continent and one smaller town are believed to be- practically demolished by the earthquake and the conflagration that followed it. These places and the pop-., ulation are: Santiago ... ...275,009 Valparaiso .... 145,000 , Los The loss of life is estimated at hundreds, the number of the injured at thousands tmd the. value; of the property destroyed at millions. Although the main commercial center and tin- seat of government of (Title -eem to have suffered most severely - grave - alar al is felt for the satiety of the inhabitants of scores of other places along the/•oast, as tlie whole lower Andes range’ was severely shaken. As at San Francisco, famine threatens the tens of thousands of survivors of she disaster, and an appeal- .'for world wide relief is expected from the devastated republic. Historic Earthquakes. j Year. Place. Victims. 1 31.3 P>. C.—Duras. Greece. buried and 12 cities destroyed in Campania .-.Thousands 157 - Asia and Ma-Toni i . . .Tlionsn’ids 557*—('oiistantinople damaged. Thousands 742—Syria, Palestine and Asia! 500 towns destroyed. .Thousands 1158—Syria 20,000 12X»t—Cilicia 1450—Naples 40.1 MK) 1531—Lisbon . . 30.009' ■ 1620- —Kingdom of Naples, 30 villages destroyed 70.000 xiU£s.-and 300. villages damaged i 100,000 1703—Jeddo, Japan 200,000 1731 —Pekin, China 100,000 1754 — Grand Caircp .. .. 40,000 1755 Lisbon . 50,000 1829 —Spain, numerous villages destroyed 6.000 18<>i—Calabria, Italy 10,000 1863—Manila, Philippine Islands 1.000 1868 —Peru a4d Ecuador 25,000 1887 —Southern Europe 2,000 1891—Japan - 5 4,000 1905 —Calabria, Italy 500 190 G—San Francisco 2.500

The disturbance was felt at some points in the Argentine republic. The earthquake occurred about 8 o’clock Thursday evening, and It was of- such tremendous violence that the seismographs in Washington, Baltimore and other American cities regis-teved-the shocks plainly. In Baltimore the needle was thrown off the registering cylinder, .. —lrin Earthquake Bel*. Valparaiso is in a marked earthquake belt. The city was partly destroyed in 1855 by a seismic shock, and many people lost their lives. In 1880 another earthquake visited the city and caused considerable damage, though the loss of life was Insignificant. There have been shocks of less violent nature In other years. The recurringjisturbances* have caused some of the residents of the city to build with a view to earthquake resistance, but in the main the town’s structures cutside of the business center are frail. In one densely populated section the streets are tortuous and narrow and the dwellings are so built as to offer weak resistance to an earth disturbance. In view of the visit of the earthquake so closely following the San Francisco disaster it is interesting to note that the formation of the land and the surroundings of Valparaiso are similar to those of San Francisco. The climate also is almost identical with that of the California city. In addition to the fear of earthquakes, the Valparaiso people are In constant dread of storms, which sweep In suddenly and frequently from the sea. Some of the most violent storms have been coincident with earthquake shocks, and the possibility that the two disturbances are allied in origin k a matter in which science is interested.

GREAT COMMERCIAL PORT. Valparaiso I* the Metropoll* of Western South America. Valparaiso is a fortified senport of Chili and the most important commercial town of the western coast of South America. It has a population of 150,000. It is the capital of a province of the same name and is situated on a large bay of the Pacific ocenn, seventy-five miles westnorthwest of Santiago, with which it is connected by rail. The bay of Valparaiso, which is well sheltered on three sides, is .bounded by ranges of hills rising to from 1,600 to 1,700 feet high, on the slopes of which a considerable portion of the city of Valparaiso is built. On the south side of the bay are the spacious suburbs of Nuevo Malecon and Gran Avonida, from which pass out one of the finest of the thoroughfares of Valparaiso, the Avenila De Las Delicifcs. The lower central section of the city is constituted by the Alrnendral —having regular and attractive streets and containing the principal business houses —the park, the plaxa Victoria, and the National theater. To the northwest of this section is the quarter of the city known as the Puerto (or port), in which are situated the greater number of the public buildings and the vast warehouses which line the quays and docks. In this portion of the city, however, narrow and crooked streets are still a feature, but the newer sections of Valparaiso have an attractive, modern appearance, the buildings in the buaineas quarters being massively built. The city contains a numerous foreign colony, composed chiefly of British, German and French merchants. There is a custom house wharf, alongside of which steamers of ordinary tonnage can moor, but most of the loading is done by lighters from a quay surrounding the town. The harbor is defended by modern, well-mount-ed batteries. Severe storms and a tidal wave at Valparaiso June 30, 1800, wrecked the railroad and did great damage to the city. .... -- --.--I ■ *Ma a* , iiT” I—ai* ...