*Ø* China's Sorrow
September 28, 1887 In one of the worst floods in history, ‘China’s Sorrow’, the Huang Ho River (Huang He; Yellow River) in China flooded, killing about 1 million people. The flooding covered about 130,000 square kilometres (50,000 sq. miles) and completely buried many villages under silt. More than two million people probably died from drowning, starvation, or the epidemics that ensued. Ten years before, in 1877, another million had died in the flooded Huang Ho, and two years later, another flood destroyed 1,500 villages.
China’s Huang Ho and Yangtze rivers drowned more than 40 million people from 1851 to 1856. A major course change that took place in 1194 took over the Huai River drainage system throughout the next 700 years. The Huang Ho River has the highest recorded silt load of any major river in the world, with each cubic foot of water carrying more than 0.9 kilograms (two pounds) of silt.
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with many more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date (or your birthday) when you're there.
September 28, 1887 In one of the worst floods in history, ‘China’s Sorrow’, the Huang Ho River (Huang He; Yellow River) in China flooded, killing about 1 million people. The flooding covered about 130,000 square kilometres (50,000 sq. miles) and completely buried many villages under silt. More than two million people probably died from drowning, starvation, or the epidemics that ensued. Ten years before, in 1877, another million had died in the flooded Huang Ho, and two years later, another flood destroyed 1,500 villages.
China’s Huang Ho and Yangtze rivers drowned more than 40 million people from 1851 to 1856. A major course change that took place in 1194 took over the Huai River drainage system throughout the next 700 years. The Huang Ho River has the highest recorded silt load of any major river in the world, with each cubic foot of water carrying more than 0.9 kilograms (two pounds) of silt.
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with many more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date (or your birthday) when you're there.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 8:56 PM | Permalink
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