hamla

The lowest barometer ever seen had preceded sheets of rain, and a solid _hamla_ (flood) had entered the gates from the valley above, filling the narrow streets in a few moments to a depth of seven and eight feet, and carrying everything before it: men, women, children, and cattle were swept in a torrent through the water-gate out to sea, sometimes a hand stretched out above the eddies.

In the Tail of the Peacock Isabel Savory