The Opelousas courier., 1892-08-13
STORIES OF BIG FLOODS
GREAT DISASTERS THAT HAVH
VISITED FOREIGN LANDS.
Calamities in Japan and India Whten
Destroy Millions of Lives-Hlsto'
ric Over flows in Europe.

Calamities in Japan and India Whtch
Destroy Millions of Lives-Hlst
rio Over flows in Europe.
~HINA's earliest records are those
of floods. In the heart OF this
" ! mighty empire there is q great
plain extending from Pek1n IN
the north to Hangchow in the SOUTH
having a length Of over 6O0 miles
by a breadth Of 800. It is crossed by
three rivers, the Yang-Tse, Yellow and
the Pei.ho, each subject to irresistl-
bic floods during the summer season.
The entire plain of 1876, 900 square miles,
large enough to make three States the
size of Missouri, is crossed and re-crosseu'
BY canals which connect the different
streams and convert the entire oistrlc'
into islands, few of a greater size IMAM
100 square miles. In years when ING
Yellow River goes beyond its banks, an;
event which occurs with such frequency
that this stream is POLITICALLY called the
escrow Of China" the suffering is
| great, but when, as sometimes happens,
| all three rivers rise to flood height from
general and ong-continued rains, the en-
/ tire country is submerged and over TO-,
600, 900 people are rendered homeless.
According to the imperial records of
China, 372 such floods are recordedt
| since the Christian era, each affecting
from 5000, 900 to 10, 900 900 people.
! One of the most disastrous of these visi-,
tations occurred in the year 1871 when
the three rivers rose almost simulta-
neously to flood height. The homes
and farms of 1900, 900 people were SUBJ
merged, and crops were destroyed over
,140, 900 square miles of territory. In;
the following year came famine and pes!
| tilence, and by food, starvation aad
fever 1000, 900 human beings are re-
ported to have persisted. The magni,i.
tude of such q disaster is beyond COM
prehension; it as though the entire
population of Missouri were blotted out
of existence in a year; and yet such is
the density of population IN China that
this appalling catastrophe produced no
more effect on the apparent populous-
ness of the empire than the drowning of
a few dwellers in the lowlands OF Louis-l
lana would cause in the apparent popu-..
lation of the United States. But the
great central plain of China is not the
ONLY district which suffers from flood.
Most of the ports are situated at the:
mouths of rivers, and along the loweq
banks dwell many thousands of poor|
people, who, by various handicrafts, OBJ:
tain a meager and uncertain subsistence.
In times of high water great distress in
yariably results among this class, no
later than the year 1888 10000 houses.
being swept away in Canton alone
while it was computed that in that city
and Shanghai over %, 5000 persons were
drowned.
The island empire of Japan is even,
more densely peopled according to size
than the fowery kingdom, and although
disasters by flood are not so numerous
they are often terribly fatal. Japan has
more seacoast in proportion to area than
hny other country on the globe, and
owing to the frequency of earthquakes,
tidal waves arc by no means uncommon.
A gigantic ocean swell fifty to seventy
five feet in height sweeping inland over
miles of inhabited country would be Ger
tain to do i~ncalcuable damage even If all
the population escaped in time, but when
it comes without a instant's warning and
overwhelms districts where hundreds of
thousands dwell the loss of life is often
reckoned by thousands. Scores of such
calamities are recorded in the history OF
Japan, most of them involving immense
loss of life. 1t is stated that in the last
century no less than six great floods oc-
CURED, over 1000, 900 lives being lost
in each.
The sacred rivers of India do not in
the least respect the feelings, lives or
property of their worshipers, but from
time to time deal destruction among
! those who bow down ON their banks and
!; pour libations into their waves. The
: Ganges has an annual food in early sum
!. mer. When the spring has been fair the
! snow water passes away in a steady flood,
which covers the delta, fertilizing the
rice fields and preparing them for the
coming crop. When, however, the
y spring rains in the mountains have beer
> peavy the snow meIts rap1ury, every soutl
i bound rivulet becomes a roaring torrent
the Ganges in the lower part of its cours
, swells to the dimensions of al inlan'
bcean and pours down to the sea
! volume of yellow water which discolor
> the ocean 600 miles from the river
mouth. Then it is that the jewellers OIL
= Its banks bring with hurried and trem
bling hands their offerings to the gods Q
!, the river, begging them to draw bac
: the waves within the banks and spare th
country. .
: The Indus is so far from the Gange
= that the one may be in flood while tt
= other is no higher than usual, but it hs
happened more than once that the GANGS
! the Bra-mapootra and the Indus were a
> raging at tae same time, and the const
= quent distress on the Indian peninsul
! was terrible. Such a disaster occurre
: in the autumn of 1876, when a series Q
. severe storms and great precipitation
!, occurred all over the peninsula, and !
: the mountains, which constitute i
: boundary TO the north, over 90, 900 pc
sons were drowned, 600, 900 were rel
: dered homeless, and many millions
property were destroyed.
= With the exception of the Danube
the Rhine and the Russian rivers Il
. streams Of Europe are mostly short, d
: all the more dange,ous on that accoun
!. for, although almost dry In the summ'
- season. in times al heavy rain thew b