1931 China floods 1931 China floods The 1931 China floods or the 1931 Yangtze-Huai River floods were a series of devastating floods that occurred in the Republic of China. They were some of the deadliest floods in history, and together formed one of the most lethal natural disasters of the 20th century, excluding pandemics and famines. Estimates of the total death toll range from 422,499 to between 3.7 million and 4 million. From 1928 to 1930, China was afflicted by a long drought. The subsequent winter of 1930 was particularly harsh, creating large deposits of snow and ice in mountainous areas. Early in
Flood control in the Netherlands system. In modern times, flood disasters coupled with technological developments have led to large construction works to reduce the influence of the sea and prevent future floods. The Greek geographer Pytheas noted of the Low Countries, as he passed them on his way to Heligoland around c. 325 BCE, that "more people died in the struggle against water than in the struggle against men". First-century Roman author Pliny wrote something similar in his "Natural History": There, twice in every twenty-four hours, the ocean's vast tide sweeps in a flood over a large stretch of land and hides Nature's everlasting controversy