FLOODS.
Seil, ARAB. Wilms°, IT.
Inondation, . . . FR. Diluvio, SP.
Fluth, . . . . GER.
Of these, the traditions of nations mention several. One Hellenic tradition is known as the flood of Deucalion, son of Prometheus, who built the ark, which rested on Parnassus in Thessaly. A similar legend of Asia Minor was connected with the deluge of Iconium, and waslocalized at Olympus, the highest peak of Western Asia. Missionaries in China have attributed the inunda tions alluded to as occurring in the reign of Yu, the founder of the first Chinese dynasty, B.C. 2207, to the flood of Noah. The flood of Noah is supposed to have occurred in the year of the world 1656, that is, about B.C. 2328 or 2344. The Aryan Hindu traditions of this great flood are distinct, but involved in their mythical religion. Their Matsya or fish avatar is a history of that event disguised in oriental fiction. One account is given ire the Satapatha Brahrnana of the Rig Veda ; another tradition is in the Mahabharata, where Brahma is the actor ; a third iu the Bhagavata Parana, and a fourth in the Matsya Purana, both of them indicating Vishnu. Disastrous river and sea floods are of very frequent occurrence in India and China. Even the ordi nary rain floods are eminently disastrous. A correspondent of the Englishman mentions that, when returning on one occasion from Kishengarh, he found the whole country under vvater. He got into a fishing dingy, and was rowed straight across country, nothing to be seen out of water but the villages, which looked like island.s in a sea the very parapets of the bridges in the road under water, and but for the trees at the roadside, nothing could indicate that snch a thing was there. All the crops gone.
Hebrew flood in Samaritan text, . . B.C. 3044 Brahmanical flood, . . . . . . 3101 Chinese flood, . . • • • 3°82 952 A.D. At Baghdad, half the city inundated from overflow of the Euphrates.
959. At Baghdad, nearly thrae-fourths of tho city inundated from overflew of the Euphrates.
969. Persian Gulf, severe eruption following earth quakee, several cities destroyed, and new islands funned.
1076. Baghdad overflowed by inundation of the river. 1088. Tigris again overflowed, and
1291 and 1304. Damascus inundated by overflow of streams.
1642. The city of Kai-fong besieged by rebels, and embankments destroyed and city inundated, during which 300,000 persons perished.
1763. Burhanpur overflown by the river Tapti from heavy rains, a quarter of the city inundated, and one-tenth of the houses deatroyed.
1768. Heavy floods in Behar arid Bengal, and in 1769 and 1770 min scanty.
1770. Great flood in Eastern Bengal.
1773. Great destruction in Calcutta from rain anti floods.
1784. Some of the N.W. Provinces suffered greatly from floods after a great drought.
1787-88. Floods in Behar and N.W. Provinces, eaid to have caused loss of 150,000 souls and 100,000 head of cattle. Rain of 1787 began early, and continued late, particularly in Bengal, Jessore, Nuddea, and Behar. About 1st October a tremendous storm of rain and wind swept over 1Y'. of Bengal, followed by a cyclone which moved across almost all I3engal, and the crops largely destroyed. In Rangpur, 1787-88, the excessive rains in the Himalayas, followed by wet weather in the district, caused the Tista to overflow into the Ghaghat, and this river swept over the district ; whole villages entirely disappeared, and multitudes of people and cattle perished ; and on the 2t1 November, just as the rico was getting into Car, a cyclone with torrents of rain occurred. Oue-sixtli of the population of Rangpur were lost, and in the I'anga pargana half the population was gone. In the same year, 60,000 of the inhabitants fell victims to famine following on floods.
1800. In China, great floods.
1818, August. Floods occurred on the coast of Canara and Malabar.
1831-32. A flood occurred in the delta of the Ganges on October 8, 1831, when 50,000 lives were lost ; near Balasore 17,474 people drowned ; in 1832, 2000 in the same neighbourhood.—As. Jl. 1833.