The
1998 Yangtze river floods (1998年中国洪水) was a major flood that lasted from middle of June to the beginning of September 1998 in the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
at the
Yangtze riverThe Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , Tibetan: Bri-chu, is the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon....
.
By August 22, 29
provincesA province, in the context of Chinese government, is a translation of sheng , which is an administrative division. Together with municipalities, autonomous regions, and the special administrative regions, provinces make up the first level of administrative division in China...
,
Autonomous regions
An autonomous region is a first-level administrative subdivision of People's Republic of China. Like Chinese provinces, an autonomous region has its own local government, but an autonomous region theoretically has more legislative rights. In practice, they only have the right to appoint the...
,
direct controlled municipalitiesDirect-controlled municipality is the highest level classificiation for cities used by China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam with status equal to that of the provinces in the respective countries...
were affected. The worst hit areas were
Jiangxi' is a southern province of the People's Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south....
,
Hunan' is a province of China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
,
Hubei' is a central province of the People's Republic of China. Its abbreviation is 鄂 , an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin Dynasty. The name Hubei means "north of the lake", referring to Hubei's position north of Lake Dongting...
,
Heilongjiang' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
,
Inner MongoliaInner Mongolia is a Mongol autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the country's north....
and
Jilin' , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
.
- August 1: The periphery levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial slope or wall to regulate water levels...
in Waijiang, Hezhen of Jiayu CountyJiayu County is a county under charge of Xianning, Hubei Province of People's Republic of China. It has a land area of 1,018.4 square kilometers, and a population of 360,000 in 2004.-Administrative divisions:...
, collapsed first.
- August 5: Periphery levees in Paizhou, Jiujiang
Jiujiang , formerly called Kiukiang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, China. It is the second largest city in Jiangxi province , the largest one being Nanchang...
, Jiangxin area of Jiayu CountyJiayu County is a county under charge of Xianning, Hubei Province of People's Republic of China. It has a land area of 1,018.4 square kilometers, and a population of 360,000 in 2004.-Administrative divisions:...
collapsed consecutively.
- August 5: The lower reaches of the Yangtze River
The Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , Tibetan: Bri-chu, is the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon....
collapsed at JiujiangJiujiang , formerly called Kiukiang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, China. It is the second largest city in Jiangxi province , the largest one being Nanchang...
and Jiangxinzhou.
- August 7: The main levee of the Yangtze collapsed.
The event was considered the worst
Northern ChinaNorthern China or North China may mean:* North China* North China Plain* Northern and southern China - rough geographic regions in China* North China * Northeast China * Northeast China Plain* Northwest China...
flood in 40 years.
Discussion
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The
1998 Yangtze river floods (1998年中国洪水) was a major flood that lasted from middle of June to the beginning of September 1998 in the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
at the
Yangtze riverThe Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , Tibetan: Bri-chu, is the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon....
.
Timeline
By August 22, 29
provincesA province, in the context of Chinese government, is a translation of sheng , which is an administrative division. Together with municipalities, autonomous regions, and the special administrative regions, provinces make up the first level of administrative division in China...
,
Autonomous regions
An autonomous region is a first-level administrative subdivision of People's Republic of China. Like Chinese provinces, an autonomous region has its own local government, but an autonomous region theoretically has more legislative rights. In practice, they only have the right to appoint the...
,
direct controlled municipalitiesDirect-controlled municipality is the highest level classificiation for cities used by China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam with status equal to that of the provinces in the respective countries...
were affected. The worst hit areas were
Jiangxi' is a southern province of the People's Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south....
,
Hunan' is a province of China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
,
Hubei' is a central province of the People's Republic of China. Its abbreviation is 鄂 , an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin Dynasty. The name Hubei means "north of the lake", referring to Hubei's position north of Lake Dongting...
,
Heilongjiang' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
,
Inner MongoliaInner Mongolia is a Mongol autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the country's north....
and
Jilin' , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
.
- August 1: The periphery levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial slope or wall to regulate water levels...
in Waijiang, Hezhen of Jiayu CountyJiayu County is a county under charge of Xianning, Hubei Province of People's Republic of China. It has a land area of 1,018.4 square kilometers, and a population of 360,000 in 2004.-Administrative divisions:...
, collapsed first.
- August 5: Periphery levees in Paizhou, Jiujiang
Jiujiang , formerly called Kiukiang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, China. It is the second largest city in Jiangxi province , the largest one being Nanchang...
, Jiangxin area of Jiayu CountyJiayu County is a county under charge of Xianning, Hubei Province of People's Republic of China. It has a land area of 1,018.4 square kilometers, and a population of 360,000 in 2004.-Administrative divisions:...
collapsed consecutively.
- August 5: The lower reaches of the Yangtze River
The Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , Tibetan: Bri-chu, is the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon....
collapsed at JiujiangJiujiang , formerly called Kiukiang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, China. It is the second largest city in Jiangxi province , the largest one being Nanchang...
and Jiangxinzhou.
- August 7: The main levee of the Yangtze collapsed.
Tolls
The event was considered the worst
Northern ChinaNorthern China or North China may mean:* North China* North China Plain* Northern and southern China - rough geographic regions in China* North China * Northeast China * Northeast China Plain* Northwest China...
flood in 40 years. In the summer of 1998,
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
experienced massive flooding of parts of the
Yangtze RiverThe Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , Tibetan: Bri-chu, is the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon....
, resulting in 3,004 dead, 14 million homeless and $24 billion in economic loss. Other sources report a total loss of 4150 people, and 180 million people were affected. A staggering 18.3 million acres were evacuated, 13.3 million houses were damaged or destroyed. The floods did $26 billion in damages.
See also
- Natural disasters in China
China is one of the countries most affected by natural disasters. It had 6 of the world's top 10 deadliest natural disasters; the top 3 occurred in China: the 1931 China floods, death toll 2 million to 4 million, the 1887 Yellow River flood, death toll 0.9 million to 2 million, and the 1556...
- List of deadliest natural disasters
- Flooding
- Yangtze River
The Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , Tibetan: Bri-chu, is the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon....
- Tofu-dreg projects
External links