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Flood management and flood warning system in China

Article  in  Irrigation and Drainage · February 2010

DOI: 10.1002/ird.513

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 IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE
Irrig. and Drain. 59: 17–22 (2010)
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/ird.513

FLOOD MANAGEMENT AND FLOOD WARNING SYSTEM IN CHINAy

JIANMING MA*, XUMING TAN AND NIANQIANG ZHANG

China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China

ABSTRACT
This paper briefly introduces the flood disaster situation in China. After reviewing the strategic adjustments on flood
management, the achievements related to the flood warning system are described. More specifically, non-structural
measures on flash flood management are discussed. Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Received 2 January 2008; Revised 27 February 2009; Accepted 2 March 2009

RÉSUMÉ
Ce document présente brièvement la situation des inondations en Chine. Après avoir examiné les ajustements
stratégiques sur la gestion des inondations, les réalisations liées au système d’annonce de crues sont également
décrites. Plus précisément, les mesures non structurelles de gestion des crues éclair sont discutées. Copyright #
2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Riverine flood and waterlogging floods on plains

Because of its geographic position, topography and climate, China often faces floods. In addition, due to high
population density and economic development in flood risk areas, flood and waterlogging disasters on the major
plains are the most damaging natural disasters in the country.
Flood disasters on plains are defined as disasters caused by inundation of rivers and local waterlogging. When
floods inundate, water is distributed more or less uncontrolled and freely over wide areas (van Duivendijk). Due to
the flat plains, the propagation of floods is slow and the duration of inundation relatively long. Waterlogging is
caused by intensive rainstorms in a period in which natural discharges are more or less regular; precipitation is
distributed over the lowland plains and water network areas. The waterlogging floods on the plains of China are
always interlinked: when surplus water (either from natural floods or intensive precipitation) is hardly able to drain
away, flood problems become more serious. Therefore, floods and waterlogging are interrelated. Waterlogging
floods on the plains can influence large areas, last a long time, result in huge damage, and happen frequently. This
type of flood is one of the most serious water disasters in China (Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief
Headquarters and Nanjing Water Resources Research Institute).
The areas of plain in China threatened by floods are about 1.06 million km2, accounting for 11.2% of the country.
The plain areas are mainly distributed over the mid and lower reaches of seven major rivers and Taihu Lake. In
particular, with economic prosperity, large population, and modern urbanization, the areas cover one-third of
China’s farmland, 66% of its population, 80% of the GDP, and accommodate 61% of the cities. During the flood
season, water levels of floods in these areas are far higher than the ground elevation, thus reliable dykes must restrict

* Correspondence to: Jianming Ma, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research 20 West Chegongzhuang Rd., Beijing
100044, P.R. China. E-mail: gjzwpt@vip.sina.com
y
Gestion des crues et système d’annonce de crue en Chine.

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

18 J. MA ET AL.

and control flooding. However, owing to sedimentation and reclamation of former flood plain zones, some river
sections have become less and less capable of discharging floods, resulting in rising water levels and higher flood
risks. Typical examples of such kinds of flood are the 1998 Yangtze River flood, and the 2003 and 2007 Huai River floods.

Water disasters in mountainous areas

Floods in mountainous areas can be categorized into rainstorm flash flood, melting snow flash flood, melting ice
flash flood, and the flash flood caused by a combination of these. Rainstorm flash floods are the most common and
serious; they are of short duration, have considerable fluctuations of water levels, contain rapid currents carrying
large amounts of sediment, and can be devastating in character.
Mountains and hills cover 70% of the land area in China. An undeveloped economy, and a lack of structural and
non-structural measures have resulted in a lower capacity to respond in emergencies and disasters.

Distribution of losses and death toll by regions

According to the statistics, the disaster-stricken farmland and ruined houses in the basins and plains account for
two-thirds of the total in China, and those in mountainous areas for the remaining third. However, in terms of death
toll in these areas the opposite occurs; in the plains it is one-third of the total, and in the mountainous areas it is two-
thirds (see Table I).
Last year, the high death toll as caused by mountain flash floods has been given more attention.

FLOOD CONTROL, DISASTER REDUCTION STRATEGY AND FLOOD WARNING SYSTEM

Strategic adjustment
In the 1980s, the concepts of both structural and non-structural measures were practised in China. The non-
structural measures included the flood warning system, decision support systems, and emergency management.
However, to date not much progress has been made in flood insurance and land use planning.
In the 1990s, especially after the 1998 flood, China has been undertaking strategic adjustment in flood control
and disaster mitigation. The main goal is to implement scientific flood management, following the concept of the
harmonious coexistence of man and nature. The focus of flood disaster prevention has shifted from successfully and
thoroughly controlling floods to effectively reducing damage (Wang Shucheng, 2006).

Flood warning and forecasting system

At present, there are 7584 gauging stations providing flood information nationwide. Among them, there are 2611
hydrologic stations (including reservoir stations), 3991 rainfall gauging stations, and 982 water level stations. In
total, there are 3171 gauging stations to inform the central government about high water levels, of which 1764 are
hydrologic stations, 745 rainfall stations, and 662 water level stations.
Communication is connected through telephone, transmitter-receivers, telegraph and satellite transmission
stations. Most of the 3000 stations reporting flood information to the central government have double transmitting
systems, thus guaranteeing the reliability of flood information. About 70% of the information coming from these

Table I. Comparison of flood disasters in mountainous areas and plains

Item Cumulative total of 41 years Mountainous areas (%) Plains (%)

Disaster areas (million ha) 32 000 37.6 62.4

Ruined houses (million) 7 800 42.2 57.8
Death toll (million) 22.6 67.4 32.6

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. 59: 17–22 (2010)
DOI: 10.1002/ird
 FLOOD MANAGEMENT AND FLOOD WARNING SYSTEM IN CHINA 19

stations reaches the central government within 1 h. There are 1134 hydrologic stations that provide information for
flood forecasting.

National information system for flood control and drought relief

Aiming at accurate and effective decision support for flood control and drought relief, the national information
system is composed of five subsystems: information collecting, telecommunications, computer network, decision-
making support, and weather radar subsystems. Construction has been divided into two phases. In June 2003, the
State Development and Reform Commission ratified the Feasibility Study Report for the first phase of the national
information system for flood control and drought relief.

Emergency and response management

In January 2006, the State Council issued the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Response Plan. The
plan established four stage responses and defined related actions for each stage.
During the 2006–07 flood season, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters started emergency
response for landing typhoons, Huai River basin floods, etc. Flood regulation and control, and evacuation of
population have been planned within the flooded areas in a more organized structure.

NATIONWIDE FLOOD CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT PLANNING FOR

MOUNTAIN FLOODS AND DISASTERS
In December 2002, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Meteorological
Administration, the Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development, and the Ministry of Environmental
Protection established a steering work group, responsible for the organization of nationwide flood control and
management planning for mountain floods and disasters. In 2004, the plan came into being. The areas covered
include 29 provinces and 1836 counties (Cheng Xiaotao et al., 2005).
Nationwide, there are 4 630 000 km2 of mountainous areas that often suffer from flash floods. That is 48% of the
total land area. The population in these areas is about 556 million.

Objective of the planning

Mid-term objective. By 2010, non-structural measures such as monitoring, telecommunications, forecasting
and early warning will be set up. Together, they must form an integrated disaster mitigation system. In priority areas
structural measures will also be planned to control mountain flash floods better. It is expected that with these
measures, a better calamity control will be achieved, saving a large number of casualties and economic losses.

Long-term objective. By 2020, the comprehensive disaster mitigation system composed of both structural and
non-structural measures will be completely set up within areas with high priority. Well-functioning disaster
mitigation systems, dominated by non-structural measures, will be implemented at that time. The systems will
improve the effective control of mountain flash floods. The death toll will be reduced. The capacity for disaster
mitigation will be tuned to the target of building a well-balanced and safe modern society in the mountainous areas.

Planning measures
Non-structural measures include collecting of information, the use of telecommunications and warning systems,
planning of disaster prevention and phasing rescue steps, evacuation and shelter of people, the development of
adequate policies and legislation, adequate supervision and enforcement, disaster prevention management, etc.
Information collecting, telecommunications and warning systems are vital in the non-structural measures,
including the use of high-tech measures such as telemetry, telecommunications, computer networks and geographic

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. 59: 17–22 (2010)
DOI: 10.1002/ird
 20

Table II. Statistics of the initial pilot projects

Experimental Miyun Yichun Qingyuan Yongtai Nanzao Shimen Xichang Kaixian Funin Kaili Zhengba Aletai Sum
unit County, City, County, County, County, County, City, County, County, City, County, City,
Beijing Heilongjiang Zhejiang Fujian Henan Hunan Sichuan Chongqing Yunnan Guizhou Shanxi Xinjiang
Province Province Province Province Province Province Province Province Province Province Province

Experimental Shicheng Shuangzi Houguangxi Changqingxi Pailuhe Shangxi, Dongxihe Rural Gepuhe Ximahe, Jinyanghe Rural
region Town, and Youhao river basin river Basin river basin Nanxi river basin area river basin Jinjinghe river basin area
Fengjiayu river basin river basin river basin
Town

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Area (km2) 467 2 164 95 249 258 178 374 184 189 61 260 211 4 690
Population 1.49 7.4 1.29 3.39 6.24 4.49 2.9 20.54 8.62 15.27 5.1 13.67 90.4
(10 000)
Monitoring Simple 970 63 11 26 38 52 16 22 13 7 15 1 233
device gauge
stations
Automatic 10 19 8 11 6 4 6 10 16 5 4 7 106
gauge
stations
Warning 300 19 81 120 231 75 113 129 16 14 290 21 1 409
J. MA ET AL.

system and
device (set)
Information 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12
management
system and
county
platform
Response County 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12
plan Township 2 17 1 2 3 3 37 4 3 5 2 4 83
Village 33 3 11 16 40 52 112 56 19 16 16 5 379
Booklet 8 000 5 000 270 3 600 7 500 10 000 1 000 20 000 6 000 5 357 12 000 2 600 81 327
Designation 15 120 15 106 1 450 36 17 120 25 17 32 16 1 969
board and
propaganda
Training 10 500 139 1 300 360 500 85 000 5 000 800 300 1 240 560 1 050 10 6749
(person-time)
Total investment 350 220 129.49 210 100.4 275 151.49 242.07 201.92 115 85 119.68 2 200.05
(10 000 yuan)

Irrig. and Drain. 59: 17–22 (2010)

DOI: 10.1002/ird
 FLOOD MANAGEMENT AND FLOOD WARNING SYSTEM IN CHINA 21

information systems (GIS). Construction and measures must be adjusted to local conditions, in particular in remote
but populated areas. Then more suitable warning measures are still effective, such as physical observation of rain
gauge canisters, manually operated warning machines, wireless broadcasting, gongs and drums. Encouragement is
towards ensuring the flood management system has wide coverage.
Structural measures include flood control measures for managing and guiding flash floods and debris in mountain
valleys and streams, the implementation of landslide prevention measures, the upgrading and reinforcement of
dangerous reservoir-dams, the execution of soil and water conservation measures and constructions, etc.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE FLOOD WARNING SYSTEM

Mountain floods occur at many locations and have a wide coverage. They affect the daily lives of a large population.
The causes of these floods are rather complex. In order to search and explore approaches and measures suitable for
and adjusted to local conditions, pilot projects have been carried out as experiments in various counties (Wang
Xiaoping, 2007).

Initial pilot projects as experiments

On the basis of nationwide flood control and management planning, in October 2005 the Office of the State Flood
Control and Drought Relief Headquarters initiated some experimental pilot projects in 12 counties. In 2007, the
experimental mission was achieved (see Table II).

Figure 1. Framework of flash flood monitoring and warning system. This figure is available in colour online at
www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/ird

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. 59: 17–22 (2010)
DOI: 10.1002/ird
 22 J. MA ET AL.

Second phase of pilot projects

On the basis of the initial projects, the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters chose
100 counties nationwide for the second phase. Emphasis is given to non-structural measures, such as monitoring
and warning systems, disaster mitigation response plans, the building up of a mass monitoring and flood risk
reduction system, and to publicity and training.
Of these counties, 10 were chosen for the pilot studies on structural measures. Each county selected one
mountain ditch. Necessary structural measures have been (and are still being) carried out for flood prevention and
disaster mitigation.
These pilot projects are planned to be initiated in 2008, and will be finished in 2–3 years.

Monitoring and warning system for flash floods

Through the pilot studies, the framework of the monitoring and warning system for flash floods was essentially
formed. The framework of the system is presented in Figure 1.
The warning message is issued through the public communication network using PSTN/GSM/CDMA. There are
three ways warnings are issued: telephone, mobile phone short message, and broadcast. Commonly, the warning is
categorized into three levels, expressed by different colours: yellow, orange, and red. The warning receiver is also
categorized in three ranges as follows:

1. Members of the flood control office at the county level;

2. Members of the flood control office at the township level, village contact persons;
3. Village leaders and farmers.

CONCLUSIONS
Mountain flash floods occur frequently in China. They are the main cause of the high death toll during the flood
season. In perfecting and consolidating the flood monitoring and warning systems in large river basins, China has been
carrying out pilot projects for flash flood monitoring and warning systems in experimental counties, aiming at
improving the effectiveness of mountain flood disaster mitigation measures, thus lowering the death toll from flash
floods (Zhao Chunming and Zhou Kuiyi, 2005).

REFERENCES

Cheng Xiaotao, Shang Quanmin, Yang Kun, Zhang Changqing, Xu Linzhu, Wan Qunzhi, Zhao Huiqiang, Huang Xianlong, Liang Zhiyong,
Xiang Liyun, Wu Yucheng, Wang Yanyan, Wan Hongtao. 2005. Flood Control and Management in China. China Water Power Press: Beijing,
China.
van Duivendijk J. 2005. Manual on Planning of Structural Approaches to Flood Management. International Commission on Irrigation and
Drainage: New Delhi, India.
Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and Nanjing Water Resources Research Institute. 1997. China Flood and Drought
Disasters. China Waterpower Press: Beijing, China.
Wang Shucheng. 2006. Implementing scientific flood management for harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Keynote speech at the
flood management session on the occasion of the 4th World Water Forum, Mexico City, Mexico.
Wang Xiaoping. (executive editor). 2007. Special Issue on flood control in mountainous regions. China Water Resources 4.
Zhao Chunming, Zhou Kuiyi (eds). 2005. Review and Prospect of the National Flood Management Policy and Strategy. China Waterpower Press:
Beijing, China.

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. 59: 17–22 (2010)
DOI: 10.1002/ird

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