FLOOD DAMAGE IN CHINA

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22429, 16 June 1938, Page 11

FLOOD DAMAGE IN CHINA

Yellow River May Change Course JAPANESE FEARS FOR ARMY Repair of Dykes Impossible (innTED PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) (Received June 16, 1 a.m.) SHANGHAI, June 15. There is no definite information as to how many Japanese soldiers perished in the Yellow river floods. The Japanese believe that an army escaped from the vicinity of Chengchow, which is now submerged to a depth of five feet. The Japanese consider that the repair of the dykes cannot be carried ©lit because of the rapidity of the current and the continuous rain. Railway experts point out that the maximum normal flooding occurs at the end* of July, and freely predict a major catastrophe. It is feared that the river may burst through the bend opposite Kaifeng and resume its old bed. It would then devastate the provinces of Shantung, North Honan, and North Kiangsu, entering the sea at Haichow.

This would bring the whole Japanese army in North China to a standstill and place it in a position of grave peril.

The Yellow river, or Hwang-ho, is one of the chief rivers of China. It rises near the source of the Yangtse-kiang in Tibet, and. flowing north-east traverses north-western China and Mongolia. It then re-enters China and flows south for 400 miles to Puchow, forming the boundary between the provinces of Shensi and Shansi. The river then flows east for 300 miles to Kaifeng. the present scene of hostilities in North China, and makes a sharp bend to the north-east, pursuing its 400-mile course to the sea through Shantung Province into the Gulf of Pechihli. Before 1852, when a disastrous flood diverted its course, the Hwang-ho used to flow eastwards from Kaifeng, entering the sea hear Haichow. The total length of the river is 2500 miles, and because of its destructive floods it is known as “China’s Sorrow.” i WAR GOVERNMENT IN HUPEH ? r NEW MOVE BY CHIANG KAI-SHEK \ —- NOTED STRATEGIST IN CONTROL (Received June 16, 12.10 a.m.) HANKOW, June 15. Marshal Chiang Kai-shek has established a military Government in the Hupeh province, controlled by the noted strategist. General Chencheng. JAPANESE WARSHIPS SUNK

CLAIM OF CHINESE AIRMEN t ' (Received June 16, 12.30 a.m.) HANKOW, June 15. The Chinese claim that warplanes ank two and damaged two Japanese war vessels near Anking. ' BRITISH RELATIONS WITH JAPAN BETTER ATMOSPHERE IN SHANGHAI ■ (BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.) RUGBY, June 14. In reply to a question in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister (Mr Chamberlain) said reports received from Shanghai indicated that a better atmosphere now existed between the Japanese and British authorities there. Three outstanding cases had been satisfactorily settledIt'was also stated that the British Government had done its best to implement to the full its obligations to China under the League resolutions.

FRENCH AID TO CHINA ? ALLEGATION IN JAPANESE ’ NEWSPAPER LONDON, June 14. spite of the French denial of a secret arms agreement with China, the Japanese newspaper “Kukomin” declares that France, whose attitude is outrageous, is materially helping China. French airmen and military advisers, it is said, are replacing the returning Americans and Germans, and arms and ammunition are arriving through French Indo-China, which, when Marshal Chiang Kaishek’s administration moves to Yunanfu, will be involved in the maelstrom of hostilities.