In August 1975, Typhoon Nina unleashed relentless rain across central China. Then, the unthinkable happened.

The Banqiao Dam gave way.

A massive wall of water tore through the communities below, sweeping away homes, villages and lives. But Banqiao was only the beginning. As dams downstream began to fail, the disaster spiralled into one of the deadliest flood catastrophes in modern history.

Yet years before the catastrophe, concerns had already been raised about the region's dams and their ability to safely handle extreme flooding. Warnings were issued, recommendations were made, but not all were acted upon.

So when the rain began to fall, was Banqiao simply overwhelmed by an extraordinary natural disaster? Or had decisions made years earlier left the region dangerously vulnerable?

This is the story of the Banqiao Dam disaster — and the flood that swallowed a region.

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