Almost a hundred thousand people were killed and most homes were
______ (1) as a result of an earthquake in Tokyo in 1923. The earthquake began
______ (2) minute before noon when the inhabitants of Tokyo were cooking their midday meals. Thousands of stoves were overturned as soon as the earth began to shake.
______ (3), small fires broke out everywhere and quickly spread. The fires engines were
______ (4) from going to help because
______ (5) roads had cracked open. It was impossible
______ (6) firefighting equipment as most of the water pipes had burst. Consequently, over ninety percent of the
______ (7) was caused by fire rather than by the collapse of the buildings. Most people
______ (8) died were not killed in the earthquake itself but in the fires which followed. If the earthquake had occurred
______ (9) night while people were
______ (10), far fewer would have died.
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