Comment in Nature on latest China Floods, causes, mitigation:

* vulnerability to #Floods increased due to rapid development, proliferation of impermeable surfaces.

* #urbanization has also wiped out many of Beijing’s #wetlands which act as a sponge

* drainage systems in Beijing have failed to keep pace with rapid development.

On top of this you have a warmer atmosphere due to #ClimateChange allowing for increased water carrying capacity for more intense rainfall like the record dumping of 745mm of rain on the Beijing over 5 days — 4 x the city’s average August rainfall.

China so far addressing this through 'Sponge' cities, but at the moment this is based on average rainfall event and not extreme events.