A number of natural disasters have affected the world from time to time, with floods being some of the deadliest incidents of that kind.Overall, there are five categories of floods. These categories are coastal floods, river floods, flash floods, urban floods, and ponding floods.One of the prime examples of a flash flood was the flooding event that occurred in the Big Thompson River of Colorado. This was one of the biggest and worst floods that the state had witnessed. However, the biggest flood to have occurred was the China Floods, which was an example of river floods. This was caused due to a number of natural causes like heavy rain, along with man-made causes like deforestation, this flooding event affected the lives of 52 million people, making it one of the most costly floods. While China has faced plenty of severe floods including the Yellow River Flood and floods due to Typhoon Nina, nothing has ever compared to the trail of destruction left by the China Floods of 1931, also known as the Yangtze Huai River Flood.At present times, India is the country that is most susceptible to the occurrence of floods, with Bangladesh occupying the second position and China coming in at third. Flood management and control can be effectively achieved by building strong dams and coastal defenses, afforestation, and climate control.To learn more about the biggest flood ever, keep reading! You can also check out biggest hail in the world and the biggest blizzard. Biggest Flood Ever Recorded In The WorldThe biggest flood to ever have been recorded in the history of the world was the China Floods or Central China Floods of 1931. This event, characterized by the occurrence of several catastrophic floods, was also known as the Yangtze Huai River flood and had devastating results.Even though the Central China Flood of 1931 is also named as Yangtze Huai River Flood, apart from these two rivers, the Yellow River and the Grand Canal River were also flooded during this time. In general, China has always been the center of some of the most devastating floods in history. However, with this flood, the Chinese government had to rethink its approach towards safety measurements against severe flooding.Let us look into some facts about the rivers whose water flooded, leading to one of the deadliest natural disasters. The Yangtze River is known as the longest river in Asia. It originates in the Plateau of Tibet, which is located at a height of 16400 ft (4998.8 m) above sea level. The course of flow of the Yangtze River is usually eastward in China, with its mouth being in the East China Sea. In comparison to the Mississippi River of the United States, which flows for a distance of 2340 mi (3766 km), the Yangtze River covers a massive distance of 3900 mi (6276.4 km), crossing some of the most important cities in China. The primary region of flooding in Yangtze’s course is its lower course.Next, the Huai River also flows from west to east like the Yangtze River and has always been susceptible to the worst floods. The source of the Huai River is the Tongbai Mountains in central China. The Huai River flows a total distance of 690 mi (1110.4 km), before draining into the Yangtze River. However, it is interesting to note that for most of recorded history, the mouth of this river was the Yellow Sea. Eventually, excessive flooding led the Huai to change its course.Taking the sixth position in the world for its length, the Yellow River of China played an essential role in the cultural development of China. After emerging from the Bayan Har Mountains, this river undertakes a journey of 3395 mi (5463.7 km) before draining into the Bohai Sea. One of the major causes of flooding in this river is due to the increasing height of its river bed. The infamous Yellow River Flood of 1887 not only wreaked havoc on agricultural lands and homes but also killed between 900,000-2,000,000 people, making it the deadliest flood of its time. The Yellow River also flooded in the year of 1938, killing 800,000 people. Unfortunately, this flood was man made and the result of a military decision taken by the Chinese government to stop the Japanese forces from taking control of China.The Grand Canal River of China is a man made river and also holds the title of being the longest artificial river not only in China but all over the world. The history of this river is quite fascinating. The earliest constructions for this river were done in the 5th century BCE, but it was during the 6th century BCE that much of the river networks were connected. The river primarily served the capital city of Beijing, and also connected the Yangtze River and Yellow River, two of the biggest rivers in China. However, flooding of the Yellow River did negatively affect the water levels of the Grand Canal River.History Of Biggest Flood EverThough this massive flood in China occurred in the year 1931, a variety of natural and man made causes from earlier years building up to the deadly event of the worst flooding in Chinese history.From the years 1928-1930, China was affected by a severe drought. The drought resulted in Chinese rivers almost drying up. However, in the winter months of 1930, massive snowstorms took place in China, leading to the mountains being covered in excessive snow and ice. In the following spring, the Yangtze River was already close to overflowing due to this melted ice and snow. To add to that, the monsoon season of that year was quite harsh as well, making the river reach its maximum limits of water holding. While all this already sounds like the perfect recipe for the deadliest flooding, the final nail in the coffin was the occurrence of seven cyclonic storms in the Yangtze. All this resulted in an intense rainfall in a single month, which was one and a half times the total rain that occurred annually in China during that time.Apart from natural causes, human activities also led to the overflowing of the Yellow, Yangtze, Grand Canal, and Huai rivers. Due to the agricultural expansion in China, much of the land in China was cleared, resulting in deforestation. Additionally, marshes and lakes, which are usually able to hold flood water, were also drained in order to farm on the lands. Furthermore, the dykes and dams built by the Government to prevent flooding were not built up to standard and did not stand a chance against the wrath of mother nature.The provinces that were worst affected by the subsequent floods were Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, Shandong, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang.Baffling Facts About Biggest Flood EverA number of baffling facts are associated with the after effects of the Yangtze Huai River flood. Reading through these will certainly give you a clearer picture of this extensive disaster in Chinese history.The earliest death toll to be reported from the Yangtze Huai River flood was around 150,000, and this was mainly attributed to drowning. However, a much greater and serious number of deaths were recorded from subsequent diseases, widespread famine, and huge economic losses that followed the floods.The crops that were grown by the common farmers as their summer harvest were almost completely decimated due to the flooding, along with heavy rain. So, in addition to losing houses, people also lost their primary source of food. The problem became much worse as the floods continued till the autumn season, and hence, prevented the people from harvesting winter crops too. The huge economic losses also constituted the destruction of stored grains, along with falling prices of labor, land, and draft animals. All this combined to form an acute socioeconomic loss that plagued the entire country. In fact, it has been reported that the combined economic loss during this time was equivalent to the income of a family for one and a half years.The shortage of food led to people resorting to desperate means in order to satisfy their hunger. While a lot of them chose to feed on soil, weeds, and bark of trees, there have been reports suggesting that some people resorted to cannibalism.However, death tolls increased astronomically due to a number of deadly diseases that started making the rounds. Measles, malaria, dysentery, and cholera became widespread, mainly due to the lack of cleanliness.Though the estimates vary, the Yangtze Huai River flood killed around two million people, while affecting around 52 million people. However, a lot of higher estimates put the death toll at four million or even more. To put this number in perspective, the St. Felix’s Flood in the Netherlands which occurred on 5th November 1530 (which was a Saturday), has been recorded as the worst flood of not just Dutch history, but in the whole of European history. This flood took more than 100,000 lives and resulted in the naming of the day of the occurrence of the flood as “Evil Saturday”. Another flood that occurred in the Netherlands, along with Northern Germany, was the St. Lucia’s Flood, which was caused due to high spring tide. Marked as one of the deadliest floods in Europe, it led to the death of 50,000-80,000 people.Puzzling Facts About Biggest Flood EverThe Yangtze Huai River flood caused plenty of puzzling incidents to occur in China.The extensive damage and destruction caused by the deadly floods of 1931 forced the Chinese government to set up the National Flood Relief Commission or NFRC. Even though the NRFC was headed by a well-known Chinese politician, since China was under attack by Japanese forces during that time, the organization was actually headed by John Hope Simpson, who was sent by the League of Nations. However, what was perplexing was the hardships the NFRC had to face in order to function successfully. Ships with Chinese forces on board were assigned to carry relief food materials into China and had to pass through the Japanese fleet, with whom the Chinese were engaged in a war at the time. As if this journey was not difficult already, once the ships passed the Japanese, they had to sail through territories where communists and bandits were active and would resort to attacking the troops and relief workers. The fact that wars and floods do not go well together was established again years later, during the Red River Delta flood. Killing more than 100,000 people, it was one of the deadliest floods in history that took place in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.Another widespread issue that occurred after the floods were the rise of refugees. In the southern regions of the Anhui province, 61% of the people turned into refugees, while in total 40% of people living in the flooded regions became homeless. Many of these refugees took shelter in the city of Wuhan. Unfortunately, the floodwater reached Wuhan as well, and over 400,000 people, including the urban population and refugees from rural areas, became homeless. The displacement of the refugees continued well into the spring season of 1932. In comparison, the flood caused after the deadly Typhoon Nina that affected China and the Philippines left more than 150,000 people homeless.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for the biggest flood ever then why not take a look at the biggest lakes in USA, or the biggest mountain in America?
A number of natural disasters have affected the world from time to time, with floods being some of the deadliest incidents of that kind.
