ESCI 1012 Lecture 22: April 28
Document Summary
Ya(cid:290)gtze ri(cid:362)e(cid:325), chi(cid:290)a (cid:799)(cid:807)(cid:801)(cid:799) (cid:883)(cid:363)o(cid:325)ld(cid:910)s deadliest (cid:325)i(cid:362)e(cid:325) flood(cid:884) At the beginning of the second sino-japanese war (1937-1945) the japanese were advancing quickly. To slow the japanese advance, dikes on the huang he river were breached. Japa(cid:290)ese ad(cid:362)a(cid:290)ce did slo(cid:363) do(cid:363)(cid:290), but the (cid:325)i(cid:362)e(cid:325) shifted its path by (cid:799)(cid:798)(cid:798)(cid:910)s of (cid:289)iles. Floods persisted for the next nine years until the channel was restored in 1947. Flood coincided with peak agricultural season, destroying harvest. At least 800,000 died from the flood and famine. Up to 4. 8% of the population in affected areas and 4 million displaced. Largest natural disaster with largest death toll due completely by human causes. Huang he (yellow) river begins in loess plateau. So river carries huge amounts of silt. Agricultural transformation of loess plateau led to increased sediment load. Levees of river rise will above the surrounding plains- as does the river surface. River is responsible for more deaths than any other natural feature.
