The Yangtze and Huai River floods soon reached Nanjing, the capital of China at the time. The city, located on an island in a massive flood zone, suffered catastrophic damage. Millions died of drowning while some died due to starvation, from waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhus. The high-water mark was reached on 19 August at Hankou town in Wuhan, with the water level exceeding above normal. On the evening of 25 August 1931, the water rushing through the Grand Canal washed away dikes near Gaoyou Lake. Some 200,000 people drowned in their sleep in the resulting deluge.