China escalates flood control measures as climate risks grow

China has made remarkable strides in mitigating flooding losses as it strives to strengthen its flood control capabilities in response to increasingly severe climate-induced challenges, said Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying.

In recent years, as the threat of climate change looms larger, China has experienced a surge in extreme rainfall events and flooding disasters, he said when meeting the media after a plenary meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Saturday.

He highlighted that in response the ministry implemented a series of measures to strengthen flood control infrastructure and monitoring facilities.

China has constructed 94,877 reservoirs with a combined flood control capacity of 185.6 billion cubic meters, he mentioned.

In an effort to enhance the flood discharge capacity of watercourses, 325,000 kilometers of river embankments have been erected nationwide, the minister said.

In case of severe flooding events exceeding river discharge capacities, he said, 98 national flood storage and detention areas have been constructed, boasting a collective storage capacity of 109 billion cubic meters.

The country has also significantly bolstered its monitoring system for flood control, achieved through continuous enhancements to its meteorological satellites, rain-measuring radars, rainfall monitoring stations and hydrological stations, Li added.

The minister noted that China successfully weathered the severe floods of 2024, which impacted 1,321 rivers nationwide, thanks to these concerted efforts.

In that year, the ministry issued 4,303 early flood warnings and activated 6,929 large and medium-sized reservoirs for flood control operation, he said.

The operation facilitated the storage of 147.1 billion cubic meters of floodwater, preventing the inundation of 2,330 urban areas and over 1.1 million hectares of farmland, he said. Additionally, it safeguarded almost 11.2 million times of relocation of people due to the dangers posed by flooding.

"These measures effectively safeguarded the lives and property of the people, significantly reducing the overall losses caused by flooding disasters," he stressed.