Storm-Wave Submerges Islands in Bay of Bengal
CALCUTTA, Nov. 20.—Three large islands, namely, Hattiah, Sundeep and Dahkan Shahabazhare, and numerous smaller islands included in Backergunge, Nookholly, and Chittagong, were entirely submerged by the storm-wave of October 31, as was also the mainland for five or six miles. These islands are all in or near the estuary of the river Megna. The largest, Dahkan Shahabazhare, was 500 squares in extent. It had a population of about 240,000. Hattiah and Sundeep together had about 100,000 population. Up to about 11 o’clock on the night of the 31st, there were no signs of danger, but before midnight a wave swept over the country to the depth, in many places, of twenty feet, surprising the people in their beds. Dense groves of cocoanut and palm trees around the villages enabled many to save themselves by climbing among the branches. Some took refuge on the tops of their houses, but the water burst the houses asunder and swept them out to sea. Some were carried thus across the channel, ten miles, to the Chittagong district, but the vast majority were never heard of again. The country is perfectly flat, and almost every one perished who failed to reach the trees. There is scarcely a household on the islands, and on the adjacent coast, but lost many members. The cattle are all drowned, the boats are swept away, and the means of communication with the other districts is destroyed. There is much distress among the survivors, which the government is relieving. The Government Gazette says that wherever the storm-wave passed it is believed that not a third of the population survived. The islands have barely one-fourth of their former inhabitants. The stench from the putrifying bodies is insufferable, and a general outbreak of cholera is expected. A correspondent says that this fear is happily not yet realized, except in Nookholly, where the disease has appeared. Reports say that India is threatened with famine. It is stated that seven districts containing 6,000,000 of inhabitants are threatened with severe distress. The Collector of Peonall reports that not a single blade of grass is visible for miles. The tanks and rivers are drying up, and cattle are starving. The Collector of Scholapore gives a still worse report. The Government has opened relief works, and is employing people in excavating tanks and making roads.—Religious Intelligencer.