This summer, torrential rains have caused severe floods in China, killing more than 100 people, forcing 1.7 million to relocate and racking up more than 61.8 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) of direct loss. In many cities along the Yangtze River, houses are submerged, cars afloat, and bridges have been washed away.
Fighting floods in China is an old tale: Stories of heroic human triumph over nature have populated Chinese literature and history for millennia. China’s traditional response to floods and other natural disasters was, as Chairman Mao put it, “Make the high mountain bow its head; make the river yield its way.”
For many years, China attempted to control floods with engineering projects such as dams and levee construction. Nearly 34,000 kilometers of levees have been built along the Yangtze River. The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze, which cost 200 billion yuan (about $24 billion at that time) and was built over 12 years, was primarily for flood control.
The controversial project, completed in 2006, forced 1.4 million people to relocate. Officials and experts hoped it would be able to withstand the worst floods, those only seen every 10,000 years. However, confidence in its ability has diminished. The Yangtze basin still faces frequent water damage and the river continues to be the source of the deadliest floods in the country.