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.
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.
Watercourse
shown in blue originating at Tawila Tanks
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.
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.
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.
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
Dinshaw syndcate]. 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.
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.
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."
|
Floods in Maalla following one of
the rare downpours. c. 1961/2 |
 |
 |
Floods in the 1960's. Picture
possibly taken from lobby of the
Crescent Hotel in Steamer Point.
Note troops carrying weapons. |
