Natural disasters in China The CCP, at the time, officially blamed the Great Chinese Famine between 1958 and 1961 that killed between 20 million and 43 million on natural disasters. If this were true, it would be the #1 deadliest famine. Another famine that occurred in 1907 was said to have claimed 24 million lives, ranked as #2. The National Disaster Reduction Center (NDRC) of the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) is a specialized agency under the Chinese Government engaged in information services and supporting decisions on various natural disasters. It provides reference for disaster-management departments in their decision-making and technical support for China's
1642 Yellow River flood in the hopes of using the floodwaters to break the six-month siege the city had endured from the peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng. The dikes were burst but the water destroyed Kaifeng. Over 300,000 of the 378,000 residents were killed by the flood and ensuing peripheral disasters such as famine and plague. If treated as a natural disaster, it would be one of the most deadly floods in history. After this disaster the city was abandoned until 1662 when it was rebuilt under the rule of the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing dynasty. It remained a rural backwater city