Heavy rainfall accompanied by the breaching of embankments has left\nChina devastated by massive flooding. Nearly 2 million people perished\nin the disaster that occurred on the Yellow River 139 years ago\ntoday.<\/p>\n
The Yellow River is the primary river in northern China, stretching\napproximately 5,464 kilometres. It derives its name from the fine yellow\nsediment, or loess, carried by its currents.<\/p>\n
Consequently, the Yellow River is known for its extremely high silt\ncontent. Large-scale sedimentation occurs primarily in the lower reaches\nof the river, which traverses the North China Plain.<\/p>\n
According to Britannica, the North China Plain is a vast and\nrelatively flat region. The continuous accumulation of silt deposits\nmakes the area highly vulnerable to flooding. In several locations, the\nriverbed of the Yellow River has actually risen higher than the\nsurrounding ground level.<\/p>\n
In Lung Men Kou, for instance, the riverbed was recorded at\napproximately 15 feet or 4.6 metres higher than the surrounding terrain.\nThis condition makes embankments vital for containing the Yellow River\u2019s\nflow and preventing it from overflowing into the lowlands.<\/p>\n
A major disaster eventually occurred between 5 September 1887 and\nearly October. According to correspondence from United States diplomats,\nincessant heavy rain caused the Yellow River\u2019s discharge to increase\nuntil the embankments holding its flow breached. Near Zhengzhou, Henan\nProvince, the breached embankment was approximately 1,650 metres\nwide.<\/p>\n
Massive volumes of water then surged into the surrounding lowlands.\nIt is estimated that around 130,000 square kilometres of lowland area\nwere submerged. According to the research paper \u201cSocio-economic Impacts\non Flooding: A 4000-Year History of the Yellow River, China\u201d (2012), the\nflood had a widespread impact on Chinese society.<\/p>\n
Agricultural lands and economic centres were either submerged or\ndestroyed. This destruction disrupted both food sources and the economic\nactivities of the population. The disaster left behind lingering issues\neven after the waters receded; the destruction of crops and trading hubs\ntriggered famine and disease outbreaks, further increasing the death\ntoll.<\/p>\n
The scale of the damage was also evident in the costs incurred by the\nQing Dynasty government. To repair the breached embankments in\nZhengzhou, the government had to spend approximately 12 million taels of\nsilver. This amount was equivalent to about 15% of China\u2019s total\nnational revenue for a single year during that era.<\/p>\n
Based on this, the 1887 Yellow River flood is estimated to have\nkilled between 900,000 and 2 million people due to the subsequent\neffects of the flood. Approximately another 2 million residents lost\ntheir homes as a result of the disaster.<\/p>\n
The massive loss of life makes the 1887 flood one of the deadliest\nflooding disasters in Chinese history. However, this tragedy was not an\nisolated incident. The Yellow River is estimated to have overflowed\napproximately 1,500 times since the 2nd century BC, consistently\nbringing death and large-scale destruction.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/china-devastated-by-massive-floods-2-million-dead-economic-hubs-paralysed-1788576776", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }