The Yellow River’s huge burden of silt (which gives the river its name) was the cause of China's 1887 catastrophe. As sediment had settled over the years and the riverbed rose, peasants had built ever higher levees along the riverbanks. In some places the bottom of the river was 30 feet higher than the surrounding floodplain. Record spring rains and melting snow pushed the waters over the 60-foot-high levees. Tens of thousands died immediately; another million or so died later of famine.
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Thailand floods pale beside five worst floods in history
The damage from this year's floods in Thailand pales beside the destruction wrought by the five deadliest floods in history. Where and when did they happen, and just how deadly were they?
2. Yellow River, 1887
