The north side of 1 city runs up a mags of rock n ing about 200 ft. almost abruptly from the outside plain, and is this together with the west wall of the city that wards off the onrush of the swollen river which here runs nearly due north and south. At the southwest corner of the city it turns at a right angle and follows the south wall of the city till it is again headed off south by the Purple or Pagoda Hill.
On Saturday evening there was a moderate flood and we hoped that, as often happens, Sunday being the third day of the typhoon, would see an improvement in the state of the weather, and the crops of rice and autumn vegetables would be saved. But as we got up on Sunday morning and viewed the city from the north hill mentioned above, an indescribable scene of desolation and destruction presented itself. The city was a lake, water stretching from east to west. and north to south. The houses were but islets standing out through the brown flood, while outside as far as the exe could see, and right up to the hills in every direction for distances from three to 30 li was water, muddy, turbulent. and lashed with foaming billows.by the tremendous easter! to southeasterly gale that was blowing.
During the night the water must have risen some 20 ft., and was now pouring in through the West Gate, and stood in the street from two to five feet deep. In spite of the increasing depth of water and the fury of the gale of wind and rain, the people now shut in their houses appeared mostly to cling to the hope that the typhoon must soon spend itself and things would soon improve, only quite a comparatively small number escaping to the higher ground where temples and convents abound. Communication with friends was almost impossible boats were available and rafts unmanageable in the gale, and attempts to hail people in their houses from the city wall were hopeless in such a storm,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.