{"id":15230,"date":"2023-12-10T15:20:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-10T14:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=15230"},"modified":"2023-12-10T15:20:11","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T14:20:11","slug":"what-happened-after-the-yangtze-river-flood-of-1931","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/what-happened-after-the-yangtze-river-flood-of-1931\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happened After The Yangtze River Flood Of 1931"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Record Flood<\/h2>\n

The most destructive flood in history, the Yangtze River flood of 1931, took place in China, near the city of Wuhan. The river flooded 1481 towns and caused an estimated 145,000 deaths1. It began in the summer of 1931, when heavy rains caused the Yangtze River to rise rapidly. This produced a flood wave that spread quickly and extensively over the region, submerging tens of thousands of villages and uprooting countless lives. <\/p>\n

Given the river’s size and fluctuating water level, it was not uncommon for flooding to take place– but the flood of 1931 was significantly larger in scale due to other factors. Temperatures at the same time were exceptionally high, causing ice to melt quicker in the upstream reaches of the river. This combined with heavy rainfall on a number of tributaries, causing rivers to swell. <\/p>\n

The flood caused extensive destruction. The water level in some parts of the Yangtze River climbed as high as 12 meters2. The immense amount of water destroyed tens of thousands of houses and forced millions of people to evacuate their homes. <\/p>\n

The destruction from the flood left communities and people reeling. The landscape of the area was completely changed. Villages were destroyed, and the people who had been living there moved away in search of new opportunities. <\/p>\n