THE ISCHIA CATASTROPHE

Dunstan Times, Issue 1118, 5 October 1883, Page 3

THE ISCHIA CATASTROPHE

The town of Jasainicciola. on the island of ischii, wa« destroyed by earthquake on the night ot J ily 28. it is estimated that 5000 persona p nislied. The shocks began at haif-mst 9 o’clock. The rnaj irity of the I upper cla-s a .vere at the theatre. and the curtain had jnat risen when a tremendous shock was felt, followe i by a fearful roar, ami the gronn'l rocked hkc a ship in a s oral. A great, cry of terror arose from the audience, who were thrown in a heap, a great number heiny buried beneath the timbers of the building, which fell on them Of those who escaped from the then tie some chimb*'.el into the trees for j safety but a large number fed into the sea. On lire seashore alarm tires had been j kindled. Meantime every building in the I town hail collapse I. The Hotel Piccola at , Seuiiuelta had slink into the earth, and I was buried with many of its inmates. | Many lioman nobles having villas at Eodrva are known to have been lost. The corps iwere plainly discernible through the rums, but could not be extricate’. In nearly every case they were horribly mang ed. The Minister of Public Works arrived at •Jasamiccola on July 29 to arrange measures for ihe relief of the p -ople. Hundreds of victims were buried in ihe usual way or immerlia'ely on thir being recovered, in order to prevent miasma ; but it was impossible to recover and bury all the bodies. Oil account of the horribl exha ations from the decomposing remains of uncovered c irps*‘s it was ordered that these should be left where they lav, and 1500 tons of chloride ot lime poured over the ruins, thus converting Casamicciola into a vast cemetery. 'I he neighbouring towns of Favu and Lncoo were greyly damaged, and (he less of life reached 200, divided between both places. The shad; was the same as that which occurred two years ago, but the radius was larger, p. was fell at sea, and. according to some accounts, ev.-n at Naples, the hospitals in which city wore crowded •villi wounded and dying brought there by steamers from the is and. The severity of the calamity oxc-eds infinitely that of the earthquake in ISSI. Among the missing are an English gentleman named Somers, who resided at the Hotel Manoi, ami also many English and American visi ors at Ischia, which was a great resort for travellers in pursuit of health or pleasure. Of a Swiss family Pascal, immoering eight, only one daughter survived. .Many English and Americans arrived on the 31st, in search ot friends ami relatives. On the night of the nisaster the scene was weirdly horrible, when hundreds of half naked men ami women, wild with terror and grief, ran to ami fro amongst the ruins and torches, searching for their missing friends. For days the stench of decaying flesh, notwithstanding the deodorising mat 'rial used, was almost unbearable Additional shocks, which added to the damage, occur ed on August 4. Ring Humbert visited the hospitals on the third ami condoled with the sufferers. Ho also went to the scene of the earthquake, 'where he distributed money and provisions to those in need.