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Newspaper
Washington Post
Location
Washington, Washington Dc, United States of America
Date
Dec 30, 1908
Page
20
Messina and southern Sicily suffered a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami. Homes, banks, and public buildings collapsed, looting and fires followed, martial law was declared, survivors were rescued, and international aid quickly organized with ships and wireless telegraphy aiding relief efforts.
Reports describe Sappho rescuers aiding the injured after the Messina quake disaster. British and Italian steamers landed crews to aid, with claims that half of Messina’s population perished. A survivor, Francesco Lojacone, jumped overboard in a delirium while pleading for his wife and children. King Victor Emmanuel and Queen attended the calamity scene.
Descriptions from Calabria on December 9 report refugees arriving from Reggio and Messina with harrowing accounts of devastation. Hospitals and supplies are being dispatched, steamer Washington aided by nearby boats, and Calabrian towns suffer collapsed public buildings, churches, and homes as death toll estimates rise.
Reports from Catania and Baltimore describe Mount Aetna’s activity with audible detonations and a rising smoke column. Johns Hopkins expert Dr Harry Feilding Reid links Italian tremors to regional crust subsidence while seismologists in London and Toronto relay observations of a severe, Europe wide quake with potential higher casualties.
Ambassador Griscom conveyed American sympathy as King Victor Emmanuel and Queen Helena left Rome for the south to aid survivors. The couple arrived from Naples and planned to travel by rail until tunnel and viaduct restrictions forced a switch to automobile and boat service from Bagnara. The pope announced an international relief committee led by himself with a $200,000 subscription, while Victor Emmanuel reportedly would donate $400,000 for victims.
Passengers arriving from Central America recount severe earthquake shocks in the region, strongest at Puerto Barrios where the American Hotel split in two and several houses toppled. Most damage was slight due to wooden construction. In other notes, a student story recalls a Shakespeare class moment with a spelling contest comparison.
News dispatch reports American Consul Arthur S. Cheney and his wife perished in the Messina earthquake. Consul Lupton, also in Messina, survived. British warship en route to aid rescue. President Roosevelt sent condolences to King Victor Emmanuel as the American Red Cross appeals for cash contributions to Italy.
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