In August 1975, the Banqiao Dam and 61 others throughout Henan collapsed following the landfall of Typhoon Nina. The dam collapse created the third-deadliest flood in history which affected 12,000 km2 with a total population of 10.15 million, including around 30 cities and counties, with estimates of the death toll ranging from 26,000 to 240,000. The flood also caused the collapse of 5 million to 6.8 million houses. The dam failure took place in the context of the Cultural Revolution.

Typhoon Nina, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Bebeng, was a deadly tropical cyclone that triggered the Banqiao Dam collapse in China's Henan Province, in August 1975. It formed on July 30, and gradually intensified as it moved generally to the west. On August 2, Nina reached peak intensity, and a day later the typhoon struck Taiwan. It weakened before moving ashore southeastern China, and later moved slowly through Central China. There, it dropped heavy rainfall, causing several dam failures, including the Banqiao Dam. It is the deadliest typhoon in the Pacific, killing 229,000 people. The floods killed 26,000 people, 100,000 people died from subsequent famine and diseases, and 230,000 people died from the consequences of the 1975 Banqiao Dam failure.