Europe
has faced the most severe weather for half a century. All of the major rivers
throughout Prussia, the German Rhineland and the Duchy of Warsaw have burst
their banks. Parts of western and northern Austria have also been inundated.
Holland
has been the most effected with massive flooding in its low lying countryside.
The dykes have given way and Holland is virtually underwater. King Louis seeks
and gets Napoleons approval to recall all Dutch units to help with the relief
efforts. Northern France and Belgium have suffered.
By late
June, after three weeks of heavy rain and high winds, has revealed a devastated
the rural countryside, with thousands of dead and homeless people. As the
Danube, Rhine and Elbe rivers recede by mid-July, reveals substantial infrastructure
damage to roads and bridges, all but the metalled roads have been washed away.
Most of the towns and villages have been inundated, overwhelming the local
governor’s and magistrate’s ability to effectively respond to the natural
disaster.
The
wheat and grain crops have been wiped out and combined with heavy livestock
losses, brings parts of Europe to the verge of economic collapse and
starvation. Typhus and cholera start to have an impact on the population,
especially in Holland where thousands are effected.
Added
to the physical damage, the stock markets have suffered and France exposed to
the fiscal burden, as the governing overlord of Europe, reels under pressure of
a possible financial disaster.
