EARTHQUAKE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2386, 30 December 1908, Page 5

EARTHQUAKE.

DEVASTATION IN ITALY.

TREMENDOUS DESTRUCTION.

FEARFUL LOSS OF LIFE

TREMENDOUS DESTRUCTION

United Press Association, Copyright

ROME, Dec. 28. A severe earthquake has been experienced at Calabria.

Three persons were killed and sixty injured at Stefanaconi and two persons were killed at San Gregorio. Many were injured at other Calabrian hamlets.

There was great destruction and loss of life at Caltamsetta and other Sicilian towns. A SKIRMISH. SERVIANS SHOT BY AUSTRIANS. (Received- Dec. 29, 10.5 p.m.) VIENNA, Dec. 29. An Austrian patrol at Zelingc, in Bosnia, returning the fire of some Servian peasants on the soldiers from the opposite side of the river Drina, killed two of the aggressors.

THE AUSTRO-TURKISH NEGOTIATIONS. -

A TURKISH DECLARATION

(Received Dec. 29, 10.5 p.m.)

CONSTANTINOPLE, Dec. 29

The Turkish Government has informed Count Pallavicini that it is not intended to give a written reply to Austria’s note, but to continue pourparlers with Count Aerenthal through the Ottoman Ambassador.

TWO-THIRDS OF MESSINA DESTROYED.

THOUSANDS OF LIVES LOST

(Received Dec. 29, 11.35 p.m.)

ROME, Dec. 29

Two-thirds of Messina has been destroyed. Thousands of people are reported killed. Much pillaging followed. Hundreds of houses collapsed. The captain of a frigate, passing; was buried in the ruins.

All the warships at Naples have been ordered to Messina with relief.

King Emanuel is proceeding there

Extensive damage has been done at Bagnara, Gioja,, Parma, and other towns, where the residents -are encamping in the fields. The shocks were of very long duration and frightful •

It is feared there will be a repetition of the disaster of 1905.

TIDAL WAVE AT MESSINA. SUBURBS REPORTED SWALLOWED UP. (Received Dec. 29, 11.35 p.m.) ROME, Doc. 29. A tidal wave overran most of-Mes-sina, leaving a layer of mud, rendering it very difficult to extricate the injured. Fires occurred owing to gas .explosions.

It is reported that Foro and Ganzine, suburbs of Messina, have disappeared.

VIOLENT SHOCKS AND FEARFUL SCENES.

TERRIFIED PRISONERS AND PATIENTS.

(Received Dec. 29, 11.35 p.m.)

ROME, Dec. 29

Violent shocks occurred between half-past five and' six in the morning at Catanzaro, Reggio, and Dicalabria. The terrified inhabitants, halfclothed, aroused from sleep, poured into the streets, Avliere rain Avas fall-

The prisoners in several gaols became panic-stricken, and smashed doors and Avindows until soldiers Afore summoned to restore order. Terrible scenes Avere Avitnessed at Catania, where hospital patients Avere seized l with, panic.

[ltaly, particularly in the Sotitliavestern portion, is liable to earthquakes, and some of the most fearful recorded in history have occurred in the Peninsula and its adjacent islands. This liability to seismic disturbance is due to the A r olcanic nature of much of the country. On the Avest side ol the Peninsula, between the main chain of the Apennines and the sea, a volcanic tract extends from Tuscany as far south as Vesuvius,, the only volcano in the Peninsula still active. To the volcanic centre's in Continental Italy may be added Etna in Sicily and Stromboli in the Lipari Islands. Calabria is the' South-West peninsula of the Kingdom of Italy, The area is 6637 square miles,, fand the population about 1,400,000. Ih 178.3 stupendous earthquakes devastated the district, and in recent-‘limes it has Bad severe experiences in thatrespect. The whole region is filled by the southern extensions of the Apennines, 4500 to 6500 ft high, except the A r alley of the Orati. Bagnara is a town of about 7000 inhabitants, on the south-east, coast of Calabria, iu the Italian peninsula, 16 miles

north-east of Reggio. Parma is an inland town in Northern Italy,, on the river Parma. It has a population of,.- about, 50,000, and contains many fine. churches and public buildings. There is a town called Gioia (or Gioja) del Colle in Apulia, northwest of Calabria. It has a population of, about 17,000. .Sicily the largest, most fertile, and mostpopulous island' in the Mediterranean, is separated from Italy by the narrow Strait of Messina. The only extensive plain is that- of Catania, out of which Moufc Etna rises to a height of 10,850 ft, with a base of 400 ‘square miles in extent. Messina, said to have been two-thirds destroyed, is the second city of Sicily, situated on the western shore of the Strait oh Messina, 110 hides from Palermo and 195 from Naples. Although a very ancient city, it- possesses few antique buildings, the greater part of it having been laid out regularly after the great earthquake of 1783. The population of the city is about 80,000, and that of the commune—about 145,000. Catania is a seaport of Sicily, situated near the foot of Mount Etna., 59 miles south-west of Messina. The population is about 115,000. By eruptions and earthquakes Catania has been several times entirely destroyed, especially in 1069 and' 1093, but it lias always risen from its ruins, and is regarded as the finest city in Sicily. Caltanisetta is a fortified town of Sicily,B3 miles south-east- of Palermo. It has a cathedra], mineral springs, and sulphur works. The population is about 25,000.]