Riverine Flooding and Landfalling Tropical Cyclones Over China

Abstract

Riverine flooding associated with landfalling tropical cyclones (TCs) in the western North Pacific basin is responsible for some of the most severe socioeconomic losses in East Asian countries. However, little is known about the spatial and temporal patterns of TC flooding and its climate controls, which constrain the predictive understandings of flood risk in this highly populated region. We provide a climatological characterization of TC flooding over China based on an exceptional network of stream gauging stations across the entire country. The most extreme floods in central and northeastern China are associated with TCs despite infrequent TC visits in these regions. Temporal variations in TC flooding demonstrate a mixture of controls tied to surface temperature anomalies in the northern hemisphere. The established links between TC flooding and climate controls present a potentially predictive tool of TC flood risk over China and other East Asian countries under future climate conditions.