Following hard on the heels of the terrible famine in the north caused by drought, there come disastrous floods on the low-lying plains bordering on the Han River—w disaster that has not been equal-Jed in Hupeh within the memory of the oldest inhabitant.
This river every year tries to surmount the course which nature has marked out for it, and too often the embankments made at tremendous cost along hundreds of miles of its banks, prove quite inadequate to the strain put upon them, or too jow to conserve the swollen waters. Anluiu has especially suffered in this respect, The plains in this area lie for the most part, below the bed of the river and to add to the danger, in at least three places the embankments stand at the end of a long sweep of river, just where it turns at an meute angle. A break at either of these crucial burners means that whole counties are involved in the consequent destruction.
Two years ago that at Tawangmiao gave way, causing untold suffering, to relieve which the Shanghai Benevolent Societies sent one of their agents, with a band of trained men, and large resources at his disposal. The relief work done by that Society wag beyond year the disaster is not confined to that area only. Rumours of floods over a vast arca reached RgO.
Scureerines or tac Hay.
Detailed reports are now coming to hand, and all show that the devastation is greater even than was at first conjectured.
In this section of the Han River, about 10) miles long, not a place on or near its banks hag escaped damage, and in a large number of eases, the destruction of property and crops, end the loss of life, have been fertile.
At Fengho, 30 miles north of Anlu, it is reported that 100 houses have]! been carried away by the flood, and as the nearest high ground is three miles awlly, very little of the moveable property or garnered grain could have been saved. A similar fate has befallen the five larger er smaller marts along the river bank below that town.
At Pumentsung, six miles inland, the inhabitants, without exception, fled to the hills, returning two days later, when. the waters had somewhat subsided, to find about 50 houses in ruins.
At the busy little town of Yangtze, tve miles up a small tributary, the flood, surmounting the surrounding embankment, filed the streets.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.