The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-07-17
THE RECORD OF DISASTERS.

The sacrifice of human life from flood
and earthquake during the past six mouths
has been very great. We have before given
some facts of the recent destructive inun-
dations in France. Nearly one sixth of
that fertile and highly cultivated country
has been submerged by desolating floods.
The principal river of the inundated de-
partment, the Garonne, is broad but
somewhat shallow stream, with flat valley
lands on either side. 1t receives from the
Pyrenees hundreds of turbulent torrents,
and, on the other hand, the whole water
shed of the southern slope Of the high land
between it and the Loire, including some
considerable rivers. For months there has
been drought in that regio when sud
denly there was launched upon it in three
days a mass of water which would have
been amply sufficient if distributed through
three months. The result was what we
have seen, on a smaller scale, though snf-
ticiently destructive and terrifying, in our
own country, where absorption and evap-
Grafton have not assisted in the disposition
of rain, and the river bed is not ample
enough to carry it away. We have had
sufficient experience enough of the effects
of sudden freshets in Jones' Falls to enable
us to form faint conception of the disas-
ter from which France is suffering. But
nothing like that in the magnitude of the
losses of property and life has ever occurred
here. Cities have been ruined, villages
and cattle swept away, and large numbers
of people drowned. The flood seems to
have been lis sudden in its onset as it was
terrible in its effects, many distressing
illustrations Of which are given by the
foreign journals. The exact amount of
nf iS rfaip
though 215 bodies have been recovered at
Toulouse, where the greatest loss of life
was supposed to have occurred. Numbers
of families are left penniless, and the active
charities of the civilized world must be
exerted to alleviate the sufferings and
impoverishment which have resulted.
The loss Of life by the floods in France
is, however, comparatively small to that
which has been produced by other causes
elsewhere during the last six months. In
the FIJI Islands alone 80, 900 people are said
to have persisted by measles and other dis
cases. introduced since the annexation of
those islands to Great Britain. Six hun
bred lives are said to have been lost by the
overflow of the Danube in Pesth We are
not informed of the loss of life by the
recent earthquakes and accompanying vel
canic disturbances in Iceland, but there
have been four other earthquakes, from
which the loss has been given approx
mately as follows: In New Grenada, 16, 900;
in Asia Minor, 1000; in the Loyalty Islands
where the earthquake was accompanied by
a terrible tidal wave, 1000; and at San
Cristobal, Mexico, 70. A famine i'll Asia
Minor during the early part of the year
swept off 10000 people before relief could
reach the afflicted region.
The marine disasters of the past six
months have been peculiarly destructive of
life. Among them are the Schiller, on the
Scilly Islands, $40; the Gutenberg, off the
Australian coast, 1866; the Cadiz, CO; the
Flu Sing, Chinese steamer. so; the Amer
lean ship Violetta, AZ; the Vicksburg, COL
lision with icebergs, 40; the Thornabia, 20;
the Cortes, 90; the George Batters, 81; the
Bride, Berar, Berlin (Japanese), and the
Alice, 20 each; aud the Lochnagar, 16.
There have been other disasters on the
South American, and Chinese and English
coasts which involved serious loss of life,
but it is impossible to estimate them, as
the telegraph furnishes no record. The
season has been unually characterized by
tornadoes and hurricanes, and of these
there have been eighteen which have been
accompanied by loss of life, as follows: In
Hong Kong, 500; Georgia, 81; Chill, GO;
Louisiana, 20; France, II; Missouri, 6;
Mississippi, II; Arkansas, 5; Michigan, 8;
Wisconsin, 3; Illinois, 3; South Carolina,
2; and Kansas, total. 944. Thirty five
fires have been reported, by which 304 lives
have been sacrificed Only three of these
have been accompanied by a heavy loss of
life, being the burning of match factory
at Gutenberg, Sweden. so; steamers at
New Orleans, "A; and the recent Holyoke,
Mass, church disaster, 90. Explosions
mainly in this country, have killed ~,
people, as follows: Fire d. .2e: boilers,
4S; gunpowder. >, fireworks, 8; nitro
glyce...ne, 4; and chemicals, 3.
This list, as will be seen, does not include
railroad disasters, snow slides aud the large
number taken off suicide, murder, war,
massacre and other violent forms of death.
Most Of these calamities admit of no rem
edy, but such as do, like the privations and
misery of the helpless survivors of flood
and earthquake, ought not to appeal to the
civilized world for help in vain.-.Sun.