1931 China floods facts for kids
Hankou city hall during the 1931 flood
|
|
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Duration | July–November 1931 (depending on river) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 422,499–4,000,000 |
| Areas affected | Central and eastern China |
The 1931 China floods were a series of huge floods that happened in China from June to August 1931. These floods, also known as the 1931 Yangtze–Huai River floods, affected major cities like Wuhan and Nanjing. A very important event during the floods was when a dike broke near Lake Gaoyou on August 25, 1931.
It's hard to know exactly how many people died. One study by the University of Nanking said that at least 150,000 people drowned. This was in the first 100 days of the flood. An official report stated that 140,000 people drowned. It also claimed that 2 million people died from drowning or lack of food. The next year, a serious disease called cholera spread. It caused over 31,000 deaths and more than 100,000 cases.
Contents
Why the Floods Happened
From 1928 to 1930, China had a long period of very dry weather. The winter of 1930–31 was extremely cold. This caused a lot of snow and ice to build up in the mountains. In early 1931, this snow and ice began to melt. The melting water flowed into the middle part of the Yangtze River. At the same time, there was a lot of heavy rain in the spring.
Normally, the region had three times of high water each year. But in 1931, the rain was continuous. By June, people living in low areas had to leave their homes. The summer also had many strong storms called cyclones. In July alone, nine cyclones hit the area. This was much more than the usual two per year. Weather stations along the Yangtze River reported over 600 millimeters (24 inches) of rain that month. The water level in the Yangtze River reached its highest point ever recorded. Even in the autumn, more heavy rain fell. Some rivers did not return to normal until November.
Areas Affected and Damage
The floods covered about 180,000 square kilometers (69,000 square miles). This is a huge area, similar in size to England. The highest water level was recorded on August 19 in Hankou (part of Wuhan). The water was 16 meters (53 feet) above average. This event is known in Chinese as "Yangtze-Huai Flood Disaster." Many waterways across the country were flooded. This included the Yellow River and the Grand Canal.
Eight provinces were hit the hardest. These were Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, and Shandong. Areas even further away were also flooded. This included places as far south as Guangdong and as far north as Manchuria.
How Many People Died and What Was Lost
The 1931 China floods are often listed among the world's deadliest disasters. At the time, the government thought 25 million people were affected. Later, historians suggested the real number might have been as high as 53 million.
Estimates for the number of deaths also vary greatly. Early studies by John Lossing Buck said at least 150,000 people drowned in the first few months. Hundreds of thousands more died later from hunger and sickness. Chinese historians, led by Li Wenhai, calculated the death toll at 422,420. Some Western sources believe the number was between 3.7 and 4 million people. This was due to hunger and disease. The Tanka people, who lived on boats along the Yangtze, suffered a lot.
The flood destroyed many homes and farms. About 15% of the wheat and rice crops in the Yangtze Valley were ruined. In the flooded areas, the loss was much higher. The disaster also caused economic problems. The prices of important goods went up quickly. The combination of environmental and economic damage led to hunger in many areas. People had no food and had to eat tree bark, weeds, and even dirt. The most deadly effect of the flood was the diseases that spread. These diseases affected people who had lost their homes. They lived in crowded places with poor sanitation. Diseases included cholera, measles, malaria, dysentery, and schistosomiasis.
The flood also caused great damage to cities. People seeking safety had been arriving in Wuhan since late spring. The city itself was flooded in early summer. A major dike broke on July 27, just before 6:00 AM. This left about 782,189 city residents and people seeking safety homeless. The flood covered an area of 83 square kilometers (32 square miles). The city was under many feet of water for almost three months. Many people gathered on small islands of dry land. About 30,000 people found shelter on a railway embankment in central Hankou. With little food and no clean water, thousands soon got sick and died.
There was no warning, only a sudden great wall of water. Most of Wuhan's buildings in those days were only one story high, and for many people there was no escape- they died by the tens of thousands. ... I was just coming off duty at the company's main office, a fairly new three-story building near the center of town ... When I heard the terrible noise and saw the wall of water coming, I raced to the top story of the building. ... I was in one of the tallest and strongest buildings left standing. At that time no one knew whether the water would subside or rise even higher.
—Jin Shilong, Senior Engineer at the Hubei Flood Prevention Agency
The city of Nanjing, which was the capital of China at the time, was also badly affected. One of the worst single events happened on August 25, 1931. Water rushing through the Grand Canal broke dikes near Gaoyou Lake. In Gaoyou County alone, 18,000 people drowned. Another 58,000 died from hunger and diseases the next year.
Rebuilding Efforts
Thomas Harnsberger, a missionary, helped a lot with rebuilding the dikes at Lake Gaoyou. He worked with General Wang Shuxiang, who was an expert in water engineering. They also helped get money for the rebuilding. However, many Chinese people do not know much about this flood. Steve Harnsberger, Thomas's grandson, wrote in 2007: "The 1931 flood killed 15 times the number of people lost in the Indonesian tsunamis of December 2004, and yet scarcely a word has been written of it." He explained that China was focused on a civil war and the Japanese invasion. The rest of the world was in the Great Depression.
Government Response
During the Republican Era (1930s–1940s)
The 1931 flood was a big challenge for the Kuomintang Government. When they understood how bad the disaster was, they created the National Flood Relief Commission. This group was led by T.V. Soong, a well-known politician. The commission brought together Chinese and foreign experts. These included famous scientists and engineers. Even the famous pilots Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Lindbergh helped. They flew over the flooded areas to map them.
People from all over the world sent money to help. Chinese communities living in other countries were very generous. In the United States, the writer Pearl Buck wrote stories to encourage donations. The relief efforts became harder after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in late 1931. This caused China's economy to struggle. However, the government managed to get a large loan of wheat and flour from the United States. After the disaster, the government set up groups like the Huai River Conservancy Commission. These groups were meant to solve flood problems. But because of a lack of money and the chaos of the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War, they could only build small dams.
Before the flood, a Dragon King Temple in Wuhan was taken down. This was part of a government effort against old beliefs. Many local people thought the flood happened because the Dragon King, a god of rain, was angry. In response, important officials held ceremonies. They bowed to the deity. Some people also believed that old beliefs stopped people from leaving. One report said thousands "are convinced that Hankow is doomed and refuse to help themselves or be helped. They sit stoically awaiting death."
During the Communist Era (1949–present)
In 1953, after the Chinese Civil War ended, Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong visited areas near the Yangtze River. He promoted the Three Gorges Dam project. This project was meant to control floods. Mao said the dam should be better than other big projects in Chinese history. He mentioned Qin Shi Huang's Great Wall and Sui Yang Di's Grand Canal.
Scientists and officials who had doubts were treated badly. For example, Chen Mingshu was punished. Li Siguang, a famous scientist, told Mao he would die if he could not stop the dam's construction. The dam project did not go beyond the planning stage during Mao's time. This was due to a lack of money, growing tensions with the Soviet Union, and problems from the Great Leap Forward. The project started again in the 1980s. The hydroelectric Three Gorges Dam began working fully in 2012. It is now the world's largest power station by how much power it can make.
See also
In Spanish: Inundaciones en China de 1931 para niños
- List of disasters in China by death toll
