Chinese authorities are drawing up a national flood risk map in an attempt to improve disaster control following the worst flooding in a decade earlier this year. In the first eight months of 2010, 3,185 people died and 2.11m homes collapsed as a result of floods, according to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The map, expected to be completed by 2022, will help the country set up a risk rating system for floods and improve measures to manage human activity in danger-prone regions, said Xiang Liyun, deputy director of the water hazard research department under the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research.

“The flood risk map will limit human development according to risk ratings and avoid potential casualties and economic losses in city planning,” Mr Xiang said.

Potential flood risk regions are being classified into categories such as development-forbidden zones and development-limited zones, to guide local economic development and improve flood prevention, he said.