A new study has looked at historic flooding of the Yangtze River and concluded that human attempts to temper flood risks may have actually made things worse. From ancient dykes to modern dams and floodgates, the team has concluded that, overall, these may have made flood events more devastating. The result is that flood events, when they occur, can be amplified rather than dampened. Did humans make Yangtze floods worse? “An ideal flood control system for the Yangtze River should be a robust river and lake ecosystem with self-adjusting capabilities, rather than relying solely on ever-rising dykes,” he added.