2-970-235 - /Heritage Images

The Inundation at Lyons - sketched by Gustave Dore, 1856. 'The inundation includes in its ravages upwards of 550 English miles, from Lyons to the delta of La Camargue, and from Orleans to the sea through the whole length of the Isere to its junction with the Rhone...the waters covered a vast extent of oountry, not less than 500 leagues, or 1200 English miles...The most fruitful parts of that country have been devastated by the floods. Nearly 40,000 human habitations have been destroyed or so seriously damaged as to require reconstruction...in the history of the inundation which at present oocupies the attention of all France, the mind is overwhelmed by the greatness of the calamity; it is the "episode", the "incident" which strikes up and awakens all our genuine feelings of pity and sorrow. A few among the many, such are presented to our readers by the pencil of an eyewitness'. From "Illustrated London News", 1856.