Terremoto

The little city of San Juan (pop. 36,000), in the Andes of central Argentina, is famous for its wine, its liberal politics. This week it is a city of death.

At 8:45 one evening last week, the earth began to shake. Great fissures gaped in the streets. Buildings cracked, crashed down on their screaming occupants. When the earth stopped shaking at last, nine-tenths of San Juan was destroyed. Broken pipelines flooded the streets with wine. Two couples being married were killed in church with their bridal parties. Latest casualty count: 3,500 killed, 10,000 wounded.

Help came quickly. From all over Argentina, doctors and nurses rushed to San Juan. Soldiers dug in the ruins for trapped survivors. Army airplanes brought supplies. Chile sent what help she could. The U.S., at odds with Argentina diplomatically, offered help through the American Red Cross.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.