Late Ming Floods and Droughts in North China

Timeline

1. 1631Shandong, Hebei · North ChinaIn the summer and autumn of 1631, severe flooding struck along the Yellow River in Shandong and Hebei, submerging large tracts of farmland and destroying harvests; hundreds of thousands of victims fled, local granaries were exhausted, and court relief was delayed.
2. 1632–1633Shaanxi, Shanxi · NorthwestFrom 1632 to 1633, Shaanxi and Shanxi suffered persistent drought and devastating locust plagues; agricultural production nearly collapsed, famine victims roamed in bands, local governments could not provide relief, social order grew increasingly chaotic, and many landless peasants joined various rebel forces.
3. 1631–1635Beijing · North ChinaThe Chongzhen Emperor repeatedly issued edicts remitting taxes and grain in disaster areas and ordered each province to open granaries for relief, but because of the enormous Liaodong military expenditures and a severely depleted treasury, actual remissions and relief grain fell far short of what the disaster required; the effectiveness of relief was minimal and social tensions in the affected areas continued to intensify.