One of the deadliest floods in recorded history, killing an estimated 2 million people across central China in 1931.
Key Facts
- Duration
- June to August 1931
- Estimated death toll
- Up to 2 million people
- Confirmed drowned (official)
- 140,000 people
- Dike breach date
- 25 August 1931, Lake Gaoyou
- Cholera deaths (1932)
- 31,974 people
- Cholera cases (1932)
- 100,666 cases
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Exceptionally heavy rainfall in the summer of 1931 caused the Yangtze and Huai rivers to overflow. Decades of deforestation, poorly maintained flood infrastructure, and a series of preceding natural conditions—including a severe winter snowfall and spring thaw—contributed to dangerously elevated water levels throughout central China.
From June to August 1931, catastrophic flooding inundated major Chinese cities including Wuhan and Nanjing. The disaster culminated in a critical dike breach along Lake Gaoyou on 25 August 1931. A University of Nanking field survey estimated that 150,000 people drowned in the first 100 days alone, representing less than a quarter of total fatalities, with official reports citing 2 million dead overall.
The floods left millions homeless and devastated agricultural land across central China. A cholera epidemic the following year, from May 1932, added 31,974 officially recorded deaths and over 100,000 cases. The disaster exposed severe weaknesses in China's flood-control infrastructure and relief systems, prompting international humanitarian response and long-term scrutiny of river management.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 2,000,000 (flood)
Range: 140,000 – 2,000,000