Banqiao Dam discharge of the reservoir is 15000 m/s (about 3.96 million gallons/s). After the disaster of the Banqiao dam failure, the Chinese government became very focused on surveillance, repair, and consolidation of reservoir dams. China has 87,000 reservoirs across the country; most of which were built in the 1950s–1970s using low construction standards. Most of these reservoirs are in serious disrepair, posing challenges to the prevention and control of flood-triggered geological disasters in areas with a population of 130 million or more. China's medium and small rivers are considered to be the Achilles' heel in the country's river control systems. According
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