Scarcely had they ceased to lament the loss of their benefactor and set foot in the city, when they perceived that the earth trembled under their feet, and the sea, swelling and foaming in the harbor, was dashing in pieces the vessels that were riding at anchor. Large sheets of flames and cinders covered the streets and public places; the houses tottered, and were tumbled topsy-turvy even to their foundations, which were themselves destroyed, and thirty thousand inhabitants of both sexes, young and old, were buried beneath the ruins.
Apenas pusiéron los piés en la ciudad, lamentándose de la muerte de su bien-hechor, la mar embatió bramando el puerto, y arrebató quantos navíos se hallaban en él anclados; se cubriéron calles y plazas de torbellinos de llamas y cenizas; hundíanse las casas, caían los techos sobre los cimientos, y los cimientos se dispersaban, y treinta mil moradores de todas edades y sexôs eran sepultados entre ruinas.