Messina lost almost half its population and the entire historical city centre was devastated including the Norman cathedral which had withstood previous earthquakes such as the severe one in 1783 , just the perimeter walls and apses remained standing . The Messina shoreline was irrevocably altered as large sections of the coast had sunk several feet into the sea . Houses , churches , palaces and monuments , military barracks : commercial , municipal and public buildings had all collapsed entirely or were severely damaged . Many structures were cracked shells , roofless , windowless and standing upright precariously . A boys ' boarding school was pulverised , burying the students . A total of 348 railway workers were killed when the two railway stations crumbled
severe one in 1783
1783 Calabrian earthquakes
1908 Messina earthquake