39 BC Yellow River flood

The 39 BC Yellow River flood was a flood of China's Yellow River in the year 39 BC during the reign of the emperor Liu Shi, posthumously known as the Yuan Emperor of the Western Han dynasty.

History

Following the disastrous 132 BC flood, the Yellow River's dikes had been largely repaired by 109 BC, returning its course north of the Shandong Peninsula and out of the Si and Huai River beds. Additional channels and outlets were provided for the river from 95 to 66 BC but, over the course of the 1st century BC, Western Han officials paid insufficient attention to the need to dredge the river's main channel and to maintain flood control measures along its course. The 39 BC flood was a precursor to the still more disastrous flood ten years later.