China has since 1998 moved 620,000 families, or 2.42 million people, from their homes in the Yangtze River Valleys to make way for river water.

The year 1998 witnessed the worst floods of the Yangtze River for decades, which prompted China to take active measures to alleviate flood damage.

In 1998, China started building floodwater diversion projects and turning farmland into lakes in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces in the Yangtze River Valleys, which led to massive re- locations.

As a result, the water surface of the Yangtze's trunk stream and Poyang and Dongting lakes has been expanded by about 2,900 square kilometers, which helps increase floodwater storage by 13 billion cubic meters, according to the China International Committee for Natural Disasters.

Close

Today's Top News		Top National News
+Yellow River floods threaten 86,000 ( 2003-10-05) +China to launch Earth-space exploration satellite ( 2003-10-05) +FM refutes report of US Congress committee ( 2003-10-05) +China hopes to recover assets taken abroad by corrupt officials ( 2003-10-05) +Israel strikes back after suicide blast ( 2003-10-05)		+China turns over 13.4 million hectares of farmland into forest ( 2003-10-05) +China relocates 2.4 million people ahead of floods ( 2003-10-05) +President urges central areas to speed up development ( 2003-10-05) +FM refutes report of US Congress committee ( 2003-10-05) +More bridges to be built on lower Yangtze River ( 2003-10-05)