FEARFUL FLOODS. GREAT LOSS OF LIFE IN MEXICO. OVER TWO THOUSAND PERSONS PERISH.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 284, 25 July 1888, Page 6

FEARFUL FLOODS. GREAT LOSS OF LIFE IN MEXICO. OVER TWO THOUSAND PERSONS PERISH.

A special from the City of Mexico f-nys : The table lands between here and Zicateeas have been vibited by unprecedented lainc. Every mountain rivulet along Central Railway for more than 200 miles has been converted into a destructhe torrent, and the \ alleys piesent the appearance of lakes. Many cities and towns have been inundated, and I, eon and Silao have been partially destroy id. About 325 houses have been destroyed. The .station buildings are occupied by homeless people unable to obtain anything to eat except watermelons and fruit found floating on the water. The floods had been more destructhe in Leon than Silab. On Monday, the 18th, the n\ur biokc over the dyke", and notwithstanding all eMort^ to check it, it made rapid headway, and finally flooded the city. As the rain fell the river rose iapidl>, flowing into town gradually and weaiiuy away the foundations of building-., which began to fall. Monday night bi ought to the city one of the most teriiblo ■-cones ever witnessed in any country. The people, belie\ing themselves fcecuie, went to bed in those parts of town wheie the water had not lound its waj, The steady downfall of rain, with the extensive water-bed of the oudyingconntry, inciea&ed the (low of the liver and rapidly extended it.- channel until over half of Leon was, undoi water. The houses tumbled in rapidly, ha\ing been worn away by the water, and the loss of life commenced. This is unparalleled in the history of the great inundation of modern times, and as the buildings fell the unfortunate sleepers were either crushed to death or drowned. One whole night of terror followed. I\leu, women, and childred fled to the stieets in their night clothes, some to find shelter on higher ground, others to be swept away by the floods. All Tuesday and Tuesday nignt it poui cd, until Wednesday morning saw a lake purlounding the city, undiininiahcd in size, with a steady ram disturbing its surface. It is estimated that 700 persons perished. Theie is a strong stench from the heaps of i übbish that at once formed here, and one is led to believe that there must be bodies buried under them. ( There aro also bodies still floating in the water. One hundred and eleven bodies have been recovered without moving any rums of the houses wherein are supposed to be hundreds of bodies buried. The number of houses destioyed is estimated at 2,000 and the loss at £2,000,000. Many other towns have been badly damaged, but the loss of life is only reported from Silao and Leon. The last reports from Leon are heait-i-ending. The whole population is woiking in the ruins of the fallen houses. JSeaily everybody lost relatives or friends, and those who have not have seen their earthly possession disappear in a night. The estimate or the loss of life and property given are the smallest reported and aro certainly within the bounds of truth. A dispatch from El Paso, Tex., says : Information received from the flooded districts in Mexico says 1,500 lives were lost by the inundation and 1,000 bodies have been recovered. Leon is a city of 10,000 inhabitants, and a large part of it is in ruins. The Mexican Collector of Customs at Parso del Norto received an official dispaton stating that 100 miles of the Mexican Central Railroad was impassable, and it will be ten days before mails can geb through, and twenty days before freight can be moved.

A COLLISION AT SEA. The British steamer Tyiicmouth Castle and the Red Star line steamer Nordland have boen in collision. Tho Nordland was bound from Antwerp to New York and it is bolieAed that Mrs Folsom, mother of Mrs Cleveland, is among hor passengers. Tho Tynomouth is, badly damaged.' She put into Sauthampton in a sinking condition. Et is not known to wh-ifc extent the Notdland lias been damaged.