Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-12-30 | Page 21 | North China Loses Millions in Floods

NORTH CHINA LOSES MILLIONS! FLOODS Devastation Wrought by High Waters Covers Wide Territory. TIENTSIN, Dec. 13. Two hundred million mil-lion dollars is the estimated amount of the actual property loss from the great floods which have swept over North China within the last two months and finally engulfed this city In an inland sea which threatens, to remain at a standstill and work further damage by freezing. Chinese 'government railways have already al-ready expended several millions of dol-I dol-I lars in repairing damages. The Pekin-Hankow Pekin-Hankow railway is now able to handle through business between the two cities , by the use of a ferry across the Puto j river. The railway connecting Tientsin and : Shanghai suffered less loss than the Hankow railway, but the first thirty miles of the line south of Tientsin is entirely under water and there is no likelihood that through traffic can be resumed for , months. Tientsin, with Its one million inhabitants, inhabi-tants, a great majority of whom are coolies dependent upon export trade for employment, faces a terrible crisis. In addition to the resident population, this city has also become the refuge center for a great population which fled here from the inundated rural sections of North China. More than 50,000 refugees from outside points have already applied for assistance. The American Red Cross has appropriated appro-priated J50.000 for immediate relief work and the American troops in Tientsin, under un-der command of Colonel Sigerfoos. are in charge of a model camp which will accommodate ac-commodate 5000 refugees. This camp was built in a few days under the direction of Roger S. Greene, the director in China Of the Rockefeller Pni inflation H t, sists of 1000 model one-room huts, each oi' which is capable of housing a family of five. Relief camps have been hastllv erected in various dry sections of the' city, but most of these can be used onlv temporarily. A general relief committee representing persons of all nationalities and various religious and philanthropic organizations, is trying to co-ordinate the j relief work. ! The Chinese government set aside 5200,- ! V0 for the relief of immediate needs and ; further amounts are promised. The Tientsin municipaJitv also is appropriating appropriat-ing money to feed the needy. Through private enterprise, small sections sec-tions of Tientsin are being dvked with sandbags and pumped out. This is true of the best residential sections in the heart of the city. But a majoritv of the city lies under water varying in depth from two to ten feet, and thousands of boats are operating through the streets on regular schedule and serving the beleaguered be-leaguered householders who are clingln" to their homes, " D