Evaluation of Government Disaster Response Effectiveness during the Peak Period of the Qing Dynasty: A Case Study of the 1761 AD Extreme Rain and Flood Event in North China

Evaluating government disaster response effectiveness is essential for improving disaster management and resilience. In this study, the Government Response Effectiveness Index (GREI) was constructed on the basis of three dimensions: response effectiveness, response speed, and targeting accuracy. This index enables a comprehensive assessment of disaster relief performance during extreme rainfall and flood events. In this study, the evaluation framework was applied to the 1761 AD extreme rainfall and flood events across four provinces in North China. Using 242 disaster-affected counties as the evaluation sample, 737 records of rainfall and flood impacts and 1,850 records of government responses were extracted from historical materials. The results revealed the following: (1) Government-responsive high-efficiency zones were concentrated in the capital administrative region and areas along the Yellow River, whereas relatively high-efficiency zones were clustered around economically developed canal regions and political centers. Low-efficiency zones corresponded to remote or less severely affected areas. (2) The Qing government’s disaster response exhibited characteristics of comprehensive yet spatially heterogeneous measures. Environmental governance emphasized ecological restoration within specific river basins, while infrastructure responses were closely tied to the safety of grain transport. The core strategies centered on livelihood stabilization through grain price control and population resettlement, supported by economic relief and production recovery initiatives. (3) The capital and the Grand Canal corridor leveraged institutional and resource advantages to achieve efficient, multifaceted governance. In contrast, peripheral administrative regions, constrained by limited measures and weakened implementation, fell into a vicious cycle of inadequate disaster response, revealing a governance pattern of strong central management and limited peripheral capacity at the Qing dynasty’s zenith.