River and coastal flooding are the most frequently occurring natural disaster and are increasing in occurrence more rapidly than any other disaster. Urbanization and deforestation reduce the capability of the earth to hold excess water. As asphalt expands and open spaces disappear, it takes less rain to flood communities as water running over the pavement collects quickly and easily disrupts storm drain systems. Those areas that are most at risk include low-lying areas, coastal regions, and communities downstream from dams.
The causes of the floods in china are varied. During August 2002 torrential rain that raised the level of Dongting Lake. 10 million people live on the banks of the Dongting. “(Dongting) is fed by four rivers including the flood-prone Yangtze - to its highest level in three years.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/naturaldisasters/story/0,7369,778348,00.html) Another cause of the flood was the typhoon "Beimian", which had previously raised levels of the rivers in the area at the beginning of August. Due to this, floods threatened 10 million people in the southern Chinese province of Hunan.
China is a high risk flood area. “The country is hit by heavy flooding each summer, but the death toll this year has occurred largely in mountainous and desert regions, away from the traditional flood areas.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/naturaldisasters/story/0,7369,778348,00.html) This unexpected change in flooding areas led to a dangerous unexpected risk.
A side effect of the floods has been landslides. The guardian reported that, “Last week, (14th August 2002) a landslide in the south-western Yunnan province buried 10 villages in the middle of the night, killing 67 people” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/naturaldisasters/story/0,7369,778348,00.html) Landslides are lethal mixtures of water, rocks, and mud, generally triggered by earthquakes, volcanoes, or weather events. In this case, the flooding had undercut the land and caused the topsoil layer to move down stream creating a torrent mixture of mud and rocks which buried a small village. Within this village seven households were engulfed as families slept. A tabacco farm was also destroyed which many in the region depend apon. Floods and landslides in the region have affected more than 10 million people between June and August. Further heavy rain in late August has exacerbated the situation with another 99 people killed.
Floods will continue to reek havuck on China for many years to come as they do not have the resources needed to plan and manage the flooding.
