China Water Resources

Urban flood disaster prevention and control is not only a major requirement for national flood security but also an essential foundation of the national water security strategy. In the new era, it faces multiple challenges. Against the backdrop of global climate change and rapid urbanization, extreme weather events are occurring with increasing frequency, intensity, and spatial extent. Urban floods caused by heavy rainfall are becoming more sudden, extreme, and abnormal, posing a key bottleneck for urban public safety and high-quality development in China. This paper explores the new requirements for urban flood control under the Chinese path to modernization, the new tasks arising from the new urbanization strategy, and the new challenges driven by climate change. It provides an in-depth analysis of the main causes of urban flooding in China: natural conditions shape the basic flooding pattern, frequent extreme weather is the primary trigger of recurrent and severe floods, and rapid urbanization is a major driver exacerbating risks. In response, comprehensive prevention and control strategies are proposed for managing flood risks under complex conditions, which include: updating prevention and control concepts, systematically advancing sponge city construction, and strengthening urban drainage and flood engineering systems; adopting scientific planning and rational use of aboveground and underground space, and enhancing the protection of critical infrastructure; accelerating the construction of the national water network, improving monitoring and early warning with a reinforced “three lines of defense” system for rainfall, water, and flood forecasting, and enhancing disaster prevention and mitigation capacity; advancing urban flood risk assessment, formulating targeted defense plans, improving joint prevention and control mechanisms, and strengthening emergency disaster management. These strategies aim to support the building of resilient urban disaster prevention and mitigation systems, safeguard public safety, and ensure high-quality development in China's cities.