NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ON the night of the 16th inst. Valparaiso, the second city in Chile, and the most important commercial centre on the West Coast of South America, was wrecked by a terrible earthquake, the worst shock lasting nearly five minutes. The centre of the disturbance was Valparaiso and the Aconcagua Valley, the North being only slightly affected by the shocks. Out of a welter of conflicting reports it was at first impossible to glean accurate information as to the full extent of the damage, but many hundreds were killed, and the Governor of Valparaiso states that at least three-fifths of the city have been destroyed. Owing to the destruction of the railways great difficulties have been experienced in getting relief through, and the sufferings of the inhabitants were enhanced, as at San Francisco, by fire and by the bursting of the water-mains, causing a terrible scarcity of drinking water. Sensational reports, as yet unconfirmed, come to hand of the obliteration of towns in the interior—Quillota, Limacbe, and Melipilla being reported completely destroyed—and the engulfing of the island of Juan Fernandez. At Santiago the damage was very great, and the city is described as resembling an encampment, all the public squares and principal avenues being crowded with people sleeping in the open. It is stated that the Chilian Congress will be asked to vote 220,000,000 for the reconstruction of the city ; meanwhile offers of relief—the very first was from San Francisco—are coming in from all sides, the Congress of the Argentine Republic voting 220,000 for the despatch of a cruiser with provisions to Valparaiso. Science seems in this instance to have played the part of Cassandra, for the Naval Observatory at Valparaiso predicted the earthquake two days before, and the announcement was actually pub- lished in the Press on August 15th.
