A Rainy Day
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Sometimes years would go by without rain in Aden. But when it did rain the results were often devastating, destroying life and property. The water would stream down the steep mountainsides with such force that all in its path was carried out to sea.
28th December 1842 was one such day. The Political Agent's Office was flooded and made insecure, the commissariat depots collapsed, as did many recently-built houses and shops. It was reported that nine people and 200 donkeys were swept away in the raging torrents.
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The Resident, Commander Haines recommended a watercourse to channel future flood waters to Front Bay, a project which the Government eventually approved after its typically slow consideration and communication.
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In 1845 work started on the embanking of the water course. However, before it could be completed another deluge occurred on 2nd May 1846, flooding the town, destroying 27 houses and making just as many unsafe. No lives were lost in the flooding but despite futile measures there followed an outbreak of cholera, which claimed five hundred victims, twenty of whom were European. The flooding caused heavy financial loss to the rice and grain merchants whose supplies for the hot season had just been put on store.
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There was major flooding in 1859 when the Tawila Tanks overflowed and despite the benefit of the watercourse it was reported a "a mighty stream carried everything before it, men, camels and all into the sea." Presumably they were in the actual watercourse.
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Following is an except from a letter dated 28th May 1870:
"The clouds had been gathering some days, and yesterday about 3 we were visited by a dust storm, followed by heavy rain, which cleared up about 6, only to come on again at 10 with double force. All night we had the most fearful lightning, and really awful claps of thunder, and rain in torrents. Of course not a thing in our house is dry. I slept on the dining-room table, the only dry place. The register of rain-averages, I hear, about 6 ½ inches, which will give you some idea how it came down, accustomed as you are to Bombay rain. It cleared up about 9 a.m.
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After breakfast I rode to camp to see the tanks, which are overflowing, and the water has burst through the wall of the lowest tank, called the Parsee's Tank, being their property [leased from government by Cowasjee Dinshawsyndcate]. The long tunnel to the isthmus has four feet of water in it all along. I got through and found the isthmus end quite blocked up with stones and debris, and had to lead my horse over. The small isthmus where the arsenal is is a sheet of water about two feet deep, and tents and things floating about. No gharry can go to camp, as the road is in some places is completely destroyed. The thunder and lightning were really appalling, and the wind and rain beat with such force I thought the house must come down.
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The damage among the residences of the natives is very great, falling down in every direction and killing some few persons. One soldier (European) and one stand of arms were struck by lightning at the Point. The sun has not yet made its appearance again, so it is delightfully cool, and I have been out six hours since breakfast........Vegetation is springing up everywhere, and I saw some flowers by the roadside which had grown and blossomed in one night.
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May 29. - The lightning appears to have played strange pranks. It entered at the window of the barrack-room and knocked down a man; it then divided into two streams and struck some arms on either side of the room, running up their barrels, and curiously through two parrot-cages which happened to be over the arms on either side, and finally it made a hole in the wall on both sides and went through. One can see through the wall where it went through, and there are zig-zag marks on the walls and barrels of the muskets. although it made a hole in the bottom of each cage the parrots were not hurt. Sun out again this morning, and we shall soon be hot again."