On Thursday evening the 16th instant, Sianfu suffered a series of earthquake shocks of a very severe nature. The first, which was of several minutes' duration, occurred about 8 p.m. and shook the earth terribly. It was a very alarming experience; houses rocked, walls fell, people yelled and dogs barked. The other two movements were very slight when compared with the first and occurred at about hour's interval from each other.
Considering the severe nature of the shock the damage done in the city is very slight, although most houses are badly wrenched, some have been destroyed and a few lives lost.
To the west of the city, however, it seems that much more damage has been done and it is reported that at Hsienyang, about 17 miles off, many homes with their inhabitants have been swallowed up.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.