River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-09-26
HORROR IN THE ORIENT.

ENOhhOh tAN NsNA-tNAs
Japanese Provinces and Towns Wiped
FROM the Face Of the Earth by LanS-
slides and Fioods-The loss Of life
Estimated at I4,OOO-Property Valued
at S6.OOO.OOO swept Away.
SAN Francisco, Sept l9-Provinoe Kit.
In the southwestern part or Japan. has
been visited by one of the greatest disas- (
tiers in the history OF the country. Prob
ably more than 1900 people have been
killed, several towns have been wiped
completely of the face OF the earth
and others have been nearly demol-
ished The catastrophe was Cocasioned
by foods in the western part OF the.
province and by the crumbling of a mount
ain, which buried six villages under hinge
mass of rocks and earth in the eastern dis
trictS The early part Of August was re-
markable for its rains, and the rapid rise OF
rivers soon became alarming. The banks
Of the kinogawa river, a stream over 100
miles in length. broke near the town e
Yokohama on the 10Th. and a mountain
OF water like that which swept
through the C0nemaugh valley rushed
out upon fields and towns. wrecking
houses, bridges. fences and temples and all
things in its path In this district 40
houses were carried away aud 800 ruined
by water, leaving $1,000 people dependent
upon local officials for food Lower down
the embankments OF the Hidakagown
were also destroyed flooding the cultivated
fields and adjacent towns. Out C six
" houses at WakanOmura bus Two
remained standing, and more than Etty
people lost their lives. An officia, c. the
Nishimura district who arrived a Wakay-
anna on the evening OF August - reports
that at about p IN. on the 18th az :aroad
Il.
in . few moments the floors Of buildings IN
the vicinity were covered Many hl,sses IN
the district were carried away. and abou5
30 persons are said 70 have lost their
lives All the villages within an ex-
tent of ten miles are more or less sob
merged In ChoraihOmura several hun
dred houses were washed away leaving
only eleven buildings standing Many per-
sons are reported to have lost their lives
in this district also The volume of the
River Kinokuni, an adjacent stream,
swelled TO an extraordinary extent, the
rise being in some places as much as
thirteen TO eighteen feet above the
normal level No bridge over the stream
could Withstand the force of he
food The river steadily rose from
about 6 o'clock in the evening until
at last, near midnight, it began to over
flow its embellishments and about four
miles from the city of Wakayana its banks
at the village OF Iwahashi were washed
away Immediately the village and its
whole neighbOrhoOd. including forty eight
other hamlets, were covered by the raging
waters. The depth of the flood is stated TO
have been from five TO fifteen feet
The neighborhOod of Osaka has also suf-
fered very severely The embankments on
YOdogawn and Inkedapaigawn were
broken at several places on the 2lst, and
considerable damage was caused to farm
ers, while many houses were swept away
or otherwise injured In Hongunura 80
houses were washed away and thirty per-
sons were drowned In Higashipmur0gori
and Neship Marogori several hundred
houses were demolished and a considerable
loss of life is reported In Hidakagori $50
houses were carried away and seventy
others were more or less damaged while
100 persons lost their lives and fifty others
received more or less severe injuries
About 5,00J persons narrowy escaped
death. Other villages suffered much
by the floods and the number of dead
can not be accurately determined:
but for the province of Xii 1t viii
mot fall below 1900 Bloated bodies and
wreckage of all description cover the
fields for miles around and it, will be
months before the survivors can proceed
with their work The loss in money is
roughly est mated at 81, O00,OOO Relief has
been sent to the ruined district, but made
quate facilities for collecting and tiistrlb-
uting provisions will make the suffering
intense, and in the outlying districts many
will die of starvation.
The same rise which ruined the western
part of the province of Xii by flood also
wrought a most singular and ruinoUs dis
aster in the eastern section. A newspaper
published at Osaka gives a clear account
1t says:
Since e 18th inst. the Totsugua Go district
has been visited by very heavy rains. and az
dawn on the 18Th it was discovered that the
rivers were rising rapidly People in the
neghborhood of Amanogayn, fearing an mum
dalton. made preparations for the emergency.
While they were thus employed the mountains
suddenly crumbted away, obst. ucting com
munIcation aetwcen TsuiidomUra and Saka-
motomura, anl the waters OF the rivers. which
rose in consequence. covered the houses in
TsuJidomura, the people fleeing 10 a temple
situated on an elevated piece Of ground
There, however. they were not fated 10 be
safe, as Sugitama, a high hill which is stu
ated at the back OF the temple suddenly came
down the village in an avalanche. burying
the entire town under ground, only half Of the
temple being left.
A correspondent who made his way
labOriously over the ruins says:
The villages Of NagafonOmura, Tan isemura,
Uyencikemura and HayasL mura, along the
course OF the river Totsugawawoc. are all
buried under the ground by the cnmbling
away OF the Umiyabara mountain. All the VII
lagos Of u. NagatonO. Numata-Hara and Asahi,
al the entrance Of the Totsugawago face each
other and can be seen across the river. but here
be ne no boats between these places no help
could be rendered. The villages Of Eycuo-
Chi Takatsu. kuwatsu and several others we're
all either swept away or buried under ground
The number OF fatalities IA these villages has
not yet been asCerta ned. but as all outlets
were bIockaded the deaths must have beeu
considerable. The villages of Kaseahaya,
Uch,haTa, TAX igawa, NOR, Namasaki and
Taaua were also entirely swept away or buried
mountains The damage along the lower course
Of the river and the villages skTting i has not
yet been ascertaincd but it IS supposed that
out of fifty villages comprising Totsugawa Go
all have suffered more or less from disaster,
and IL IS doubtful % one has ESCAPED. Ia all
these villages farms, rice fields and houses
are supposed 30 have suffered. The exact
number is not yet known. but district officials
place the number OF deaths at between 5000
and 5000
About 200 houses Of the villages close
to the Tomitagawa were swept away. and
over $50 persons are reported TO have lost
their lives. According to iuyesr,ga ions
made up to August g. the total humber
of houses carried away in Nishi Mtrog0u
was ,O93, while sos others We're demolished.
40 being more OF less damaged. The NUM-
Der of deaths was $50
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