The Auroran Flood

The Auroran River, fed by the glaciers and snowfields of The Western Divide, flowed by the town of Bakari. One year, there was an incredible snowfall in the mountains like no one in the town had ever seen. That spring, as the snow melted, the river ran unusually high and occasionally spilled over the banks of the river into the nearby farms, villages, and town. As the water level continued to rise, the town began to build dirt walls to strengthen the banks of the river in an attempt to stop the flooding which was killing crops and turning the dirt streets to mud.
One day, however, there was a terrible rain and wind storm which destroyed the barricades and left the river running higher than ever. Many in the town began to notice and tried to build them back up while others took their families and fled. Finally, the river overtook them and flowed all over the city and the surrounding farmland, destroying many buildings and all of the crops. The river spread itself out all over the area near Amanita Bay, creating dozens of all small creeks and streams that flowed from the main river into the bay. The storm continued to dump rain into the empty town and surrounding valley for days, creating more small streams and small marshes. Eventually, the rain stopped and some of the smaller streams died away to leave behind a massive, largely uninhabitable marsh around the bay.
Thanks to the sacrifice of the over 100 brave men and women who continued to rebuild the barricades and protect the town, most of the people were able to get away and stay in a few nearby villages until the storm passed. Although some moved back to town and began to rebuild, it never was quite the town it was before. Not only did they lose so many buildings and crops, but the land was largely useless and the town smelled awful because of the decaying organic matter in the swampy wetlands that surrounded the town. Despite these desolate conditions, many stayed in the town because they had never known anything else. Every year, the honored the sacrifices of those who saved their loves on May 16th, the day of the flood. Without being able to grow or raise much, they got most of their food from fish and other animals in the swamp. Eventually, the people began to adapt to and even embrace the conditions they lived in, believing they were tougher than others for being able to live here.
Not only did the flood destroy Bakari, it wiped out numerous other small villages along the river. Many people there didn't leave in time and were swept away, got stuck, or drowned-bringing the total number of deaths closer to 1000. This doesn't even include the number of people in Bakari and nearby who died from diseases brought on by the mosquitoes that didn't occur as much before-especially the Bakarian Virus.

Type

Natural