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condition of these rivers had therefore caused piety for some time prior to the occurrence of the recent disastrous flood. On
the 8th. instant the water at Wuchow stood at 69 feet or about 35 feet above low water. On the 9th. instant the dreaded Fu Ho, which falls into the West River just above Fuchow, suddenly came down in spate. The water at Wuchow rose at once to 75 feet or 3 feet higher than high water mark in last year's flood which was the greatest known for 40 years, and by the afternoon of the 10th. instant the water had risen to the unprecedented height of 79 feet 3 inches, and was still rising. It is said to have reached its maximum height of 82 feet on the same day which is 10 feet higher than the maximum registered in 1914. But according to another account the maximum height did not exceed 79 feet inches.
4.
The result was an inundation which practically submerged the town of Tuchow, burst all the dykes along the West River Banks, submerged the town of Sam Shui near Canton and inundated a very large part of Canton City itself to a depth of from 6 to 10 feet. But the cup of disaster was not even then full, for a devastating fire broke out among the upper storeys of the houses in which thousands of the inhabitants of Canton City had sought refuge with the result that 2,800 houses were destroyed. It is estimated that 10,000 persons lost their lives in this terrible fire or in trying to escape from it.
Hundreds of square miles of country carrying
crops almost ripe for harvesting have been covered with a waste of water and the loss of life and property can scarcely be estimated and will never be accurately known.
5.
Man is too puny to render effective assistance in such a disaster. For days it was impossible to communicate with the shore at any point along the West River or to render help to survivors isolated from the mems of getting food or
shelter. Relief was, however, organised and funds have been
subscribed
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