| Victims of the flood | |
| Duration: | July – November 1931 (depending on river) |
| Fatalities: | 145,000–4,000,000[1][2][3][4] |
| Damages: | Inestimable |
| Areas affected: | Yellow River, Yangtze River, Huai River |
The 1931 Central China floods or the Central China floods of 1931 were a series of floods that occurred during the Nanjing decade in the Republic of China era. It is generally considered the deadliest natural disaster ever recorded; almost certainly the deadliest of the 20th century (when pandemics and famines are discounted) and in China.[2] The human deaths are estimated from 145,000,[5] to between 3.7 million to 4 million.[3][4][6]
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From 1928 to 1930 a long drought preceded the flood.[4] By some accounts abnormal weather over central China began in the winter of late 1930. Heavy snowstorms in the winter were followed by spring thaw/defrost heavy rains that raised the river levels even higher. The rain increased into July and August 1931.[2] In July alone 7 cyclones hit the region. On average two occur per year.[2]
Chinese sources usually indicate the death toll of the Yangtze River overflow at about 145,000 and affecting 28.5 million.,[7] while most western sources place the death toll from the floods at an estimation between 3.7 and 4 million people.[2][3][4]
The Yellow River has historically been considered the "Cradle of Chinese Civilization". Major floods in this river generally have catastrophic agricultural, economic and social impact. The Yellow River flood occurred between July and November 1931. Estimates of the number of people killed in the flood generally range from 1 to 2 million. Figures have shown about one million people died of drowning. The river completely inundated 87,000 km2 (20,000,000 acres).
The worst period was from July to August.[4] In July alone, four weather stations along the Yangtze River reported rain totaling over 2 ft (0.61 m) for the month.[2] The casualties of the Yangtze River overflow region reached 145,000 and affected 28.5 million.[8]
The Yangtze along with the Huai River flood reached Nanjing city, capital of China at the time, an island in a massive flood zone.[2] Millions died of drowning or from diseases such as cholera and typhus. Wives and daughters were sold, and local residents reported infanticide and cannibalism in stark details to the government.[2] Some of the areas affected included Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Hankou, Wuhan, Hanyang, Chongqing. The high watermark was reached on August 19 at Hankou with the level exceeding 53 ft (16 m) above normal. Comparatively this is an average of 5.6 ft (1.7 m) above the Shanghai Bund.[2][9] On the evening of August 25 the water through the Grand Canal washed away dikes near Gaoyou lake. Some 200,000 people drowned in their sleep.[2]
The Huai River Conservancy Commission is one example of a commission promoted by the Nationalist Government to address flood problems.[2] Due to the Second Sino-Japanese war, the Chinese Civil War and the lack of funding, the government only emphasized on small dams along the Yangzte River.[10]
In 1953 Mao Zedong took a trip to the Yangzte River and said:
| “ | The Socialist Three Gorges Dam project should excel other major projects in Chinese history such as Qin Shi Huang's Great Wall and Sui Yang Di's Grand Canal.[10] | ” |
Scientists and officials who raised doubts, like Chen Mingshu, were persecuted as rightists. Li Siguang, a prominent scientist and minister of geological resources, told Mao he would commit suicide if he could not stop the construction of the Three Gorges Dam project.[10]
The project did not move beyond planning stage in the Mao era due to Sino-Soviet conflicts and other events of the 1960s such as the Great Leap Forward. China also did not have the resource to build such a dam at the time.[10] The project was restarted in the 1980s and the dam was completed in 2009.