Kalistani Major History

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Major Earthquake strikes Kaliburg
More than 5600 unaccounted for, Premier feared dead
Kaliburg, Ananto
March 7, 4892


Major earthquake impacts housing district near Revolution Plaza, Damage to Infrastructure said to be "complete"

"It looks like a bomb went off down here... its just unbelievable..." said a breathless and incredulous fire chief. Albert Donnelson responding to his seventh natural gas explosion in as many hours in Kaliburg's Imperial City neighborhood. "We have whole blocks just utterly destroyed." The explosions were secondary effects of a major earthquake on a long dormant cadet faultline that runs close to Devon Bay, and is responsible for its deep water characteristics. The earthquake measured 7.8 struck at 4:38 AM, KST, and was centered 3 miles off shore in the Ananto Strait. The depth of the quake has been estimated to be about a quarter mile deep in the earth, and was felt as far away as Gendaris, on the mainland. Tsunami warnings were initially issued for the entire Republic coast along the Ananto Strait, and have just been cancelled without incident.

Unfortunately, downtown Kaliburg was not so lucky. Suffering the brunt of the quake, the Capital City experienced severe damage, and has been suffering aftershocks for the better part of two days now. All electricity and heating services are damaged, and losses to human life are estimated to be catastrophic. The quake struck at while most of the capital slept and as a result, in neighborhoods destroyed by the quake, the death toll was elevated.

"We estimate that close to 6,000 residents of our city are either trapped in debris, or are dead," said CIty spokeswoman Darren Kelsy James. "It is the belief of the Crisis Management team that one of the missing residents is the Premier of the Republic Marguerite Beloit." Her neighborhood, the middleclass neighborhood called Imperial City, known for its revitalized and stylish rowhousing and steep inclines, was among the hardest hit neighborhoods and nearly than 90 percent of the single family homes in that neighborhood have been utterly destroyed. "It is not yet safe for rescue workers to enter the neighborhood too far to begin looking for survivors, especially given the utter destruction of the infrastructure and the periodic secondary gas explosions from underground pipes damaged by the quake," said James.

The City estimates that it will be three more days before enough of the gas mains can be closed to prevent loss of life of the rescue workers. "I've never seen anything like this," Said Fire Company 82 Chief Josephine Fernandez. "I have had to hold back some of my guys, just because if they go in there, it is a high probability that they too will die. Fires rage unchecked in parts of the town which are absolutely inaccessible by our trucks, and the best we can hope for is to find some survivors in this rubble."

For her part, the Premier has not been seen since the evening before the earthquake, and aerial reconnaissance showed houses near the wreckage that used to be the Premier's house burning unchecked. "We have not had contact with the Premier for more than two days, said Spokeswoman James, "and while we are hoping that she somehow survived the destruction... well, we'll just leave it at that." The Premier, who has served as the head of Government for more than a decade now, oversaw the restoration of the Socialist Party to dominance in Kalistan, revitalizing the economy, the culture, and the military.


Premier Marguerite Beloit, photographed Last month, now feared to be among the dead in mostly destroyed Imperial City, Kaliburg

The National Assembly building, and many other public buildings down town were heavily damaged in the quake, and both the Davon Sea Dunes National Park, Port Davon, and Kaliburg International Airport suffered significant damage. The Airport is down to one single runway, and its use has been limited to emergency use only. Those seeking to leave the Capital are advised to fly from Luxon, or from Dulnerstaad, and the National Ferry has begun taking people from Ananto to the mainland already, but has limited the number of vehicles which may board. "The last thing we want is for people to crowd the streets to get to the Port when the port itself is do messed up," said Spokeswoman James.

Power in the capital remains out for about 86% of customers, which doesn't pose much of a problem during the day, when temps will reach 65 during the day, but at night, without the ability to heat the homes, 45 degree overnights forecasted for the next week could pose a problem for some of the elderly and infirm. All people who do not need to remain in the capital have been advised to leave the capital and stay outside the region, and stay tuned to further updates with regard to developments.

Local amateur radio and shortwave stations have begun operating from emergency generators in other parts of the Republic, and aiming their propagation at the capital for those who have access to batter Shortwave radios. These stations have begun serving as information channels, where spokespeople from various emergency services will contact the radio operator, who will then broadcast updates. As the use of shortwave radio is someone common in the Republic, those with battery operated radios are advised to keep their dials tuned to the Kalistani channels for information and instructions.

Details of the damage and destruction are sketchy at this moment, and The Republic will do its part to keep the world apprised of the situation in Kaliburg, from our bureau in Eveari, and our reporters on the ground in the capital. Please stay tuned to this developing situation.