----+--------------------+-----+------------------------------------------ | _Y. M. d. h. m._ | | 12 |1909 XII 10 9 0 |VIII |Guam. Destructive earthquake. Two shocks | | |lasting 20 seconds, of which the second | | |was the more severe. Direction of the | | |shocks SE-NW. In Agana practically all the | | |east and west walls of native mortar | | |houses were badly cracked. In nearly every | | |house articles on shelves of these walls | | |were thrown down, while those on the north | | |and south sides remained in place. The | | |women's hospital, built of local mortar, | | |was so badly injured as to require tearing | | |down; its tiled roof slid off to westward | | |and the worst cracks were in the east | | |wall. Many ceiling boards in different | | |houses were shaken down. Several fissures | | |opened in the ground, from one of which, | | |near the river, came a large flow of | | |water. The river bed sank in several | | |places. The passing wave could be seen | | |distinctly as it crossed the plaza, and | | |the station ship in the harbor reported | | |having felt the shock. No damage of | | |importance was done in the other towns on | | |the island. The buildings of the cable | | |station at Sumay, constructed of | | |reinforced concrete, were not injured, but | | |a few objects were thrown down and the | | |steel water towers could be seen swaying. | | |No shocks were noticed before or after the | | |earthquake, nor was anything extraordinary | | |observed in the sea. The disturbance was | | |not felt at Yap, Western Carolines. No | | |information from the other islands. | | | [Illustration: (Map of the Philippine Islands)] [Illustration: EARTHQUAKE MAP OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 1599-1909] * * * * *