What are the natural causes of Yangtze River floods?

The natural cause of floods in the Yangtze River is mainly weather, that is, rain and floods.

According to the causes, river floods can be mainly divided into: heavy rain floods, snowmelt floods, ice floods, flash floods, mudslides and dam breach floods. In the estuary area, there are tidal floods and floods caused by storm surges, earthquakes and tsunamis.

The Yangtze River Basin is basically in the East Asian subtropical monsoon zone, and most of it belongs to the subtropics. The basin area is 1.8 million square kilometers, and the main stream is 6,300 kilometers long. The west is an alpine plateau area with an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, and the east is close to the sea. The terrain is low and flat, and the climate and terrain conditions vary greatly. There is melting water from glaciers and snow in the upper reaches of the basin, but the amount of water is relatively small and only forms part of the base flow of the river. Coastal tsunamis occasionally occur, and their scope of influence is limited. In addition to affecting the coastal areas, storm surges sometimes also affect the mainland, especially inland areas. It transforms into low pressure and penetrates deep into the interior, causing large or severe floods, but the chance is less. From the perspective of the entire basin, heavy rain floods are the main cause, generally accounting for 70 to 80% of the annual runoff, so they are classified as rain flood rivers.