Who was viewed as a god and savior by many in china

the unknown god is  savior by many in china

God first gave His promise of a coming saviour, the ‘Seed of the Woman,’ in (Genesis 3:15 (KJV)). The foreshadowed sacrifice of the coming Lamb of God, Creator and Saviour, is as old as mankind.

In the majority of China Buddhism and Confucianism but mostly Chinese people did not worship or stick to one religion.  ShangDi also another God that the Chinese worshiped .

they were unable to pay their debts

the east coast has nothing to do with the dust bowl, the dust bowl killed a full year's worth of crops in seconds, and with the dust on the land, the land would be worthless.   furthermore the farmers couldn't  get  out of their houses due to the dust so when the bank came to collect money, farmers couldn't  pay it

i think it is the byzantine empire