China expands payouts for flood victims

China is broadening its economic support policies for communities impacted by flood diversion schemes as the country faces increasingly extreme rainfall events driven by climate change.

According to a report by Reuters, the Chinese central government announced expanded safeguards this week, including direct financial compensation for people affected by flood control operations, as well as payments for lost livestock. The move comes as authorities continue to intensify the use of designated flood storage areas, low-lying regions adjacent to rivers, to prevent catastrophic downstream flooding.

These flood diversion zones, which now number 98 nationwide, span several major river basins, including the Yangtze River basin, home to over one-third of China’s population. While originally set aside for emergency water storage, many of these areas have since become home to farmland, businesses, and residential communities. Their increasing activation has sparked growing social tensions among displaced residents and farmers who face economic and personal losses.

During last year’s devastating Hebei floods, eight such flood zones were utilized. This year, with the East Asia monsoon arriving in early June, rainfall has intensified significantly. According to the China Meteorological Administration, precipitation in the middle and lower Yangtze River regions has been as much as double the seasonal average.

The situation has been especially dire in Guizhou province, where a city of 300,000 residents experienced what meteorologists described as a “once-in-50-years” flood event, triggered by rapid and intense rainfall. In Hubei and other parts of southern China, rainfall records for June were shattered, with over 30 meteorological stations reporting all-time highs.