China, historically one of the countries most affected by floods, suffered one of its worst disasters in September 1887, killing at least 930,000 people.
For centuries, farmers living around the Yellow River in China had built embankments to control the rivers, but over time these rivers rose because they were not allowed to overflow, leaving their silt in the riverbed. In 1887, after a few days of heavy rainfall, this rising river broke through the levees around September 28 and a massive flood occurred.
the waters of the yellow river are generally thought to have breached the levees at huayuankou, near zhengzhou city in henan province. due to the low-lying plains in the area, the flood spread very quickly across northern china, covering an estimated 130,000 km2, inundating agricultural, residential and commercial centers.
in the aftermath of the floods, more than two million people were left homeless. the lack of basic necessities, the spread of epidemics, the lack of food caused at least as many people to lose their lives as were lost directly in the floods. this is the second largest loss of human life in the history of both China and the world.
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The post The Yellow River Floods in China in 1887 that killed 930,000 people appeared first on NSF News and Magazine.