DISASTROUS FLOODS.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 176, 31 July 1888, Page 1

DISASTROUS FLOODS.

A THOUSAND LIVES LOST. Despatches from the city of Mexico bring the news of frightful floods in that country, attended with great loss of life, the destruction of numberless dwellings, and the washing away of miles of railway. The city of Leon, in the State of Guanajuato, a town of some 10,000 inhabitants, is almost wholly in ruins. Information from the flooded districts say 1000 bodies of persons drowned by the inundation have been recovered, and it is not known yet how great the loss of life has been These floods have been caused by unusually heavy rains, swelling every mountain rivulet for a distance of 200 miles, and converting it into a raging torrent. The streams rose above the dykes, and, in spite of all efforts to check them, made their way into Leon and other towns, undermining the foundation.of buildings, and bringing them down on the people below. The number of houses destroyed in Leon and Silao, a smaller town in its vicinity, is estimated at 2000, and the loss of property at 2,000,000 dollars at the very least computation. Many families which escaped the floods and the falling buildings are left entirely homeless and destitute, and much suffering must ensue unless relief is furnished them promptly.