由于地势低洼,排水不畅,加上受到黄河和运河的影响,淮河流域一直是中国发生洪水灾害最多的地区之一。1906—1913年,在这一地区罕见地连续数年发生水灾,引起持续饥荒和瘟疫。当时恰值清末民初这样一个大变革时期,政府需要应对的危机接踵而至,而瘟疫的流行又给赈灾工作增加了很大困难。美国为缓解此前因排华法案而在中国引起的联合抵制美国商品运动,适时地伸出援助之手筹集善款及物资帮助赈济灾民,并派数名工程师来华参与洪水控制,而美国在华所办教会大学金陵大学农学教授裴义理组织灾民开展紫金山造林与农场聚居地计划。在美属菲律宾林业局局长埃亨,中国留美回国林学家韩安及美国当时驻南京、上海领事与金陵大学协调下,美国将剩余赈款用于建立金陵大学林科以培养林学人才。上述举措为此后赈灾、防灾工作积累了大量的经验,也开启了整个20世纪上半叶中美在农林、水利工程、道路建设、疫病应对等方面的合作。

Due to the low terrain, poor drainage, and the influence of the Yellow River and the Great Canal, the Huai River Basin has been one of the most flood-prone areas in China. In 1906鈥?913, floods occurred for several consecutive years in this area, causing persistent famines and plague. At that time, it was just a period of great change in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. The crisis that the government needed to deal with came one after another, and the plague epidemic added great difficulties to the relief work. The United States timely extended a helping hand to raise charity funds and materials to help the victims, and there were some new trends in disaster relief ideas and measures. Several engineers were sent to China to participate in investigation and research on flood control. Bailie, Professor of Agriculture inNanking University, a missionary university run by the United States in China, organized the victims to carry out the afforestation in Purple Mountain and Farm Colony plan. Under the coordination of Ahem, director of the US Philippine forestry administration, Han an, a Chinese returned Forester from the United States, the US consuls in Nanjing and Shanghai at that time and Nanking University, the remaining relief fund donated by the United States was used to establish the Forestry Department ofNanking University to cultivate forestry talents. The above measures have accumulated a lot of experience for disaster relief and prevention since then, and also opened the cooperation between China and the United States in agriculture and forestry, water conservancy projects, road construction, disease response and so on in the first half of the 20th century.