Show cie bit shakes down many buildings in valparaiso causing fearful loss of life one hundred thousand peoli are homeless S aty per cent of the city be ng completely de strayed death roll Is heavy valparaiso chile at 7 52 p m thursday august 16 uis city was visited by an earthquake of great se verity and during that night e gaty two shocks were felt most of the buildings of the ty are either burned or damaged the los will be enormous probably reaching two thousand persons killed Is considered to be a fair esti mate of the casualties viena del mar three miles from val paraiso and having a population of over 10 quinhu niiles to the southward with a population of 25 santa lamache limache fifteen miles to the northwest with a population of 6 quillota Qui llota twenty anve miles to the north west with a population of 10 and villages all around were destroyed most of the damage was due to fire which started immediately after the first shock the whole population Is sleeping in the hills the parks or the streets food Is very scarce milk cost two chilean dollars a liter and it Is al most impossible to obtain meat even at high prices the railways are all destroyed kain which began to tall immediately after the first shock stopped an hour afterward the nights are very cold and windy and the people bleeping in the open are suffering greatly the captain of a steamship which has arrived from san francisco says the situation here Is than that following the disaster at san fran CISCO valparaiso Is a fortified seaport of chile and the most important corn mercial town of the western coast of south america it has a population of about it is the capital ot the province of that name and is sit bated on a large bay in the pacific ocean seventy five miles west north west of santiago with which it Is con necked by rail the bay of valparaiso which Is well sheltered on three sides Is bounded by ranges of hills rising to from 1 to 1700 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 avenida from which pass Is cut one of the finest of thoroughfares of val paraiso the avenida de las Dell cias the lower central section of the city is constituted by the almendral hav ng regular and attractive streets and containing the principal business houses the plaza victoria and the national theatre to the northwest of this section in the quarter of the city known as the puerto or port in which are situated the greater number of public buildings and the vast warehouses which line he quays and docks in this portion ot 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 business quarter being massively built the port of valparaiso is the ter minus of many important lines of steamers for europe by way of the straits of magellan and panama and Is the center of the south american coasting services it contains a numerous foreign col ony composed chiefly of british ger man and french merchants there 1 i custom house wharf alongside of which a steamer of any tonnage can moor but most of the loading Is done by I 1 gaters a quay surrounding the town the harbor Is defended by modern well mounted batteries se vere storms and a tidal wave at val paraiso june 30 wrecked the rai road and d d great dattage to the ity |