We humans, since our existence are trying to control a greater force called nature from one way to another. In prehistoric times, our ancestors learned about fire and uses fire for their basic needs and sometimes in greed, then the same fire caused destruction whenever misused or ill-handled. This is what we know now as the balance of the nature, when you try to control nature the nature itself will retaliate and will show her superiority over us. Floods are surely one of the most brutal ways of nature to avenge humankind and other living forms on the earth. It is inevitable; no human can stop it from happening. Well, we don’t know about aliens whether they can or cannot, and if they can, we can do with a little help, don’t we. We feel it as our duty to inform you about the biggest and Worst Floods Ever in the history of our civilization.
8. Yangtze River Flood (1911)
The 1911, Yangtze River Flood is one of the deadliest disasters that China has ever experienced. Chang Jiang or the Yangzi, pronounced as Yantze, is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world. It flows for 6300 km from the Qinghai glaciers in Tibet to the East China sea at Shanghai. This river is the main source of irrigation, transport in China. The largest hydroelectric power station in the world was built on this river. In 1911, it killed around 1,00,000 people and cause severe property loss.
7. Red River and Hanoi Delta Flood (1971)
The Red River Delta is stretched over some 15,000 square km, in northern Vietnam. In 1971, during the Vietnam war, the Red River delta flood killed more than 1,00,000 people in Hanoi.
6. St. Felix Flood (AD.1530)
The St. Felix Flood happened on 5th November 1530, on the name day of ST. Felix, in the Netherlands. Most of the land of the Netherlands was washed away and more than 1,20,000 people were killed. Nowadays, the submerged area, including large parts of Flanders, Zeeland and Reimerswaal cities have completely turned into the salt marsh area. The day was later recognized as Evil Saturday (or Kwade Zaterdag) in the Dutch history.
5. Yangtze River Flood (1935)
In 1935, another flood had hit the southeastern China, on the Yangtze River. The Yangtze valley, is amongst the most frequently flooded areas in the world, that naturally floods every summer. This one was even more cruel than the 1911 floods. It killed more than 1,50,000 people and destroyed everything that the residents of the valley had ever possessed. Due to the flood, few dangerous water borne diseases like Malaria, Dermatitis and Tuberculosis, occurred and plagued the whole nation.
4. Banqiao Dam Failure (1975)
The Banqiao Reservoir Dam is situated on the River Ru in Henan province, China. In 1975, Banqiao Reservoir was among the 62 dams in Zhumadian city that was destroyed during Typhoon Nina. According to People’s Daily, the dam was designed to survive over 300mm of rainfall per day, but the Typhoon caused the rain fall almost twice as much that the dam can handle. In August 1975, the breakdown of this dam lead to the China half flooded. More than 1,60,000 people were killed and millions of people were stuck under water for days fighting for their survival. According to the reports, the approximate property loss was over US $500 million.
Read: 25+ Deadliest Airline Disasters in History
3. Yellow River Flood (1938)
The Yellow river flood of 1938, was the largest act of environmental warfare. During the second Sino-Japanese war, China was under pressure from the Japanese forces. The then Nationalist Government, decided to halt the forces from further advancement. As a plan, they decided to destroy the dikes at the Yellow river, letting the river freely flow into the settlements near Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu province. There was nothing to gain; the strategic value of the flood has been questioned. Japanese troops were out of its range; moreover, they were not able to stop their forces. The report indicates that around 8,00,000 people were drowned, which may be an understatement.
2. Yellow River Flood (1887)
51 years before the 1938 Yellow river flood, there was another catastrophe happened in 1887 in the same Yellow River in China. On 28th September 1887 the river’s water overflow and killed more than 9,00,000 people. More than 2 million people were homeless and over 50,000 square km of land got submerged, destroyed agricultural lands and commercial centers.
1. China Flood (1931)
Read: 13 Worst Engineering Disasters of All Time
The 1931 Central China Floods are considered as the deadliest disaster in the world. It started in July 1931, when Yellow river, Huai river and the Yangtze river water height exceeded and around 1,50,000 people drowned while they were sleeping. From 1928 to 1930, a long drought afflicted China. By some accounts, abnormal weather over central China began in the winter of late 1930. Heavy snowstorms in the winter followed by a spring thaw and heavy rains raised river levels significantly. The rain grew heavier in July and August 1931. 1931 was also characterized by extreme cyclone activity—in July of that year alone, nine cyclones hit the region, whereas on average only two occur per year. This was the most deadly disaster which affects around 28 million people.