Floods that had turned dozens of cities in southern China into swamps last week have prompted experts to question the urbanization process which gives little attention to environmental protection.

"On one hand, we have to admit the main reason is the extreme climate because the amount of precipitation is much higher than usual; but on the other hand, we can also see the government was unprepared for this kind of situation," Zhang Junfeng, an environmental expert who has been monitoring Beijing's water conditions since 1993, told the Global Times.

Since June 30, the Yangtze River Basin has been battered by continuous rainfall. Floods have hit many provinces bordering the Yangtze River, such as Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu.

As of Friday, floods have affected approximately 31 million people in 11 provinces and claimed 164 lives, with 26 missing, and property and economic damage worth 67 billion yuan ($1 billion).

Zhang said in the past, China was more focused on economic development and ignored the importance of environmental protection. For example, marshes and lakes are key to flood control, but many local governments, such as in Wuhan, have reclaimed land from marshes and lakes for real estate development. 

The China Youth Daily reported that Wuhan, the city worst-hit by last week's floods, had 127 lakes in the 1950s. The number of lakes in the city has drastically shrunk to around 40 over the years.

From 1991 to 2002, 38.67 square kilometers of lakes had vanished in Wuhan.  And by the end of 2014, the total area covered by urban construction has risen from 220 square kilometers in 1986 to 527 square kilometers.

"Urban planning requires more scientific analysis, and the red line of land reclamation should not be crossed," Zhang said. "Local governments need to be aware that losses caused by floods and waterlogging could be much bigger than gains from land reclamation."

Wang Yongchen, a 61-year-old journalist-turned-environmentalist, told the Global Times on Sunday that the damage from floods in China is not only due to natural disasters but also from inadequate information and public opinion gathering on the government's part.

Dam 'time bombs'

Some analysts have warned of dam construction issues as "time bombs" in times of severe floods.

Hydropower dams serve both as a flood control measure and a measure to generate electricity. However, some policymakers are more interested in the dam's economic benefits to the point that they might overlook the other function, Wang said.

Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, said that compared to huge hydropower dams, small water conservancy facilities face greater problems. Many small water infrastructure projects were built in the 1950s and 1960s. And in that era, due to technical reasons, many projects did not have integrated designs. Therefore, this problematic infrastructure could be "time-bombs" when rain strikes. Small dams are highly unreliable and they will even lead to greater damage.

Ma suggested that the government consider readjusting the concept of "flood control" to "flood management." He said that if we insist on using large amounts of resources to fight natural disasters, we will waste those resources to some extent, and the damage will not be limited.

Ma also believes floods can help us understand the hydrological environment. In other words, we can determine where floods normally occur. The government has to protect cities from floods as much as possible, but in rural areas, the government can try to move people from low-lying areas and use these areas to retain water.