  The results of observations of the giant 1998 August 27 outburst in SGR
1900+14 are presented. A comparison is made of the two extremely intense events
on August 27, 1998 and March 5, 1979. The striking similarity between the
outbursts strongly implies a common nature. The observation of two giant
outbursts within 20 years from different sources suggests that such events
occur in an SGR once every 50-100 years.
