China Expands Flood Compensation Covering Livestock, Diversion Areas

China has expanded its economic compensation policies for populations affected by flood diversion schemes amid increasingly frequent extreme rainfall events. The central government will now cover 70% of all compensation funds, with local governments responsible for the remaining 30%, a shift from earlier rules that varied based on local fiscal capacity and losses. For the first time, the compensation scheme includes payments for lost livestock and poultry that cannot be relocated before floodwaters arrive. These flood diversion areas, which number 98 across major river basins such as the Yangtze, have increasingly been used to manage downstream flooding, though their activation has caused social tensions due to displacement of farms, residences, and businesses. Following severe floods in Hebei province in 2023, where nearly one million people were relocated, the government is optimizing compensation procedures by directly transferring funds to beneficiaries’ bank accounts. Recent extreme rainfall, including a “once-in-50-years” flood in Guizhou province and record precipitation in southern China, underscores the urgency of these expanded safeguards.