Blog: Why Flooding Has Become So Common in Chinese Cities

Beijing initiated a citywide red alert for flooding on Saturday, making it the second time that Beijing has issued the highest-level flood warning since the National Meteorological Center adopted the system in 2010. The last time it happened was 12 years ago.

In just the first half of this year, flooding has affected an estimated 31 million people in China to varying degrees, according to data from the Ministry of Emergency Management. That’s nearly 10.5 million more than last year. Flooding has led to the collapse of more than 2,100 homes, damaged 2.4 million hectares (5.9 million acres) of crops, and caused direct economic losses of about 21 billion yuan ($2.9 billion).