The Shock Wave 25 blocks Illustration: Remie Geoffroi Winds of up to 500 mph would raze buildings and turn cars and lampposts into deadly projectiles.

Other razed buildings included three one-storey family houses, animal shelters and a communal well.

The flames made a ghastly sight as they illuminated acres of razed buildings nearby.

Officials also sought to quash rumors that the military would be bulldozing razed buildings deemed unlikely to harbor survivors.

Conservationists advocate restoring rather than razing buildings near the city wall, whose Roman foundations are overlaid by Arab defenses dating from the 11th century onward.