The city continued to expand further south as epidemics in 1835 and 1870 forced more and more people to move out of the old city to the newer spacious, green and healthier Weltevreden neighborhood. The old city became deserted and was a mere empty shell of its former glory by this period. Old Batavia kept its commercial importance as the city's main harbor and warehouses district, but it was largely overshadowed by Surabaya as the colony's prime harbor and commercial hub.