CHINESE CATASTROPHE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 244, 15 October 1931, Page 5

CHINESE CATASTROPHE

PHENOMENAL FLOODS FAMINE AND PESTILENCE NEARLY 2,000,000 LIVES LOST VAST AREAS DEVASTATED SHANGHAI, Sept. 6. Hankow, the capital of the province of Hupeh, situated at the junction ol the Yangtse and Han rivers, has been inundated by the worst flood in the history of China. Business in this most important commercial centre oi : inland China is paralysed.

The flood situation started to assume an extremely serious aspect last July and for more than si? weeks the city of Hankow has been flooded. At the time of writing the flood waters are receding, but apart from the damage caused by the flood, Hankow has still to face the horrors of famine and pestilence.

The Yangtse River on August 22 broke all previous records and rose to a level of 53ft Gin, submerging Hankow in water from 4ft to 15ft deep. The Yangtse in 1870 rose to a height of 50ft Gin. Since that year until the present floods the river has never reached the 50ft Kark. The whole of what is known as the Wuhan area, comprising the city of Hankow and the Chinese cities of Hanyang and Wuchang, was converted into one great lake. Terrible Death Roll From an aerial survey made by officials of the Standard Oil Company of New York, it is estimated that 35,000 square miles in the province of Hupeh—half the total area of the province—were affected by the recent floods and that 5,000,000 Chinese arc homeless and destitute. In the neigh bouring province of Hunan 22,U00 square miles were flooded and two million are destitute.

It is probable that the total death roll will not be much under two million before the waters once more fall to normal. In the Wuhan area alone the deaths from drowning, starvation and disease reached 1000 daily.

Thousands of one-storied Chinese houses were submerged beneath the flood waters and collapsed. A large Chinese hotel in the former British concession collapsed. The hotel was crowded and hundreds of Chinese were either killed by falling timber or drowned. The damage to the foundations of the majority of the buildings will probably be enormous and rebuilding will be necessary in many instances. In addition, the whole of Hankow will need a thorough disinfection. Telegraph and telephone lines have been brought down in scores. Enormous Damage by Fire

Fires have added to the horror of the situation. Hundreds of Chinese houses in the native city have been burned and many of the refugees were trapped. It was practically impossible to fight the frames.

The warehouse of the Texas Oil Company, in which thousands of drums of gasoline and petroleum were stored, has been burned. Huge steel drums were hurled 200 ft into the air and the olaze was accompanied by explosions Burning oil frowed with the current of the river and endangered hundreds oi Chinese houses and sampans. It is believed that spontaneous combustion aboard two lighters moored beside the warehouse is responsible for the devastating fire. Effective efforts to extinguish the fire were impossible owing to the depth of the flood-water around the warenouse. The damage is expected to be about 4,000,UU0 dollars (about £400,000). Both the Hankow Herald and Central China Post were unable to publish their regular editions. The machinery of the Post, in the basement of the building, was under 9ft of water. The two newspapers, however, managed to issue short bulletins giving a daily summary of developments in the flood situation. The authorities have arranged to remove as many flood refugees as possible to concentration camps on the hills above Wuchang. Whole Countryside Under Water In addition to the havoc wrought by the flood iu the provinces of Hupeh and Hunan, North Kiangsu has also suffered. Fifteen sections of the Grand Canal dykes collapsed and approximately 200,000 Chinese have been drowned. Eight districts bordering the Grand Canal are under water and several million people are destitute. For about 200 miles the whole countryside, reaching almost to the sea, is flooded. Thousands of peasants and farmers had everything they possessed swept away.

The bursting of the banks of the Yellow River has caused in Honan a disaster overshadowing even that of Hankow. It is estimated that a million Chinese have been drowned there.

Altogether 17 provinces in China have been affected by floods and approximately 80,000,000 sufferers are awaiting relief. According to an estimate prepared by the National Flood Relief Commission, over one million tons of food will be needed to feed the starving people until next spring.

For the last fortnight refugees from the flooded area have been coming to .Shanghai, At the time of writing some 15,000 refugees have arrived here from Hankow. During the last few days they have been arriving at the rate of 1000 daily; it is estimated that over 5000 of these people are absolutely destitute. The Chinese authorities, in co-operation with the municipal authorities of the International Settlement, have established a large refugee camp at Chapei, the northern Chinese suburb of Shanghai. Relief of the Sufferers With reports of the flood conditions coming into Nanking from various provinces in China, officials of the National Government are endeavouring to raise, by the issuance of bonds, a loan of 30,000,000 dollars to relieve the suffering populace in the flooded districts-

The American Red Cross has contributed 100,000 dollars to the relief of the sufferers. It is proposed to spend the money in purchasing food and medicines.

Japan is conducting a campaign to raise funds for the relief of the flood sufferers. A contribution of 100,000 yen has been made by the Imperial Household Treasury by order of the Emperor. China has purchased from the United

States 15,000,000 bushels of wheat to feed the sufferers in the flood-stricken areas in the Yangtse Valley. Details regarding the length of credit to be granted by the United tSates, the rate of interest and method of transporting the grain to China, have still to be settled.

The National Flood Relief Commission has charted a ship at Shanghai which will be equipped as a hospital ship and despatched to Hankow.