In 2023, floods caused the death of roughly ***** people across the globe. Nevertheless, this death toll is dwarfed in comparison to the peak recorded in 1999. That year, some ****** people died as a result of floods, mostly the consequence of one of the deadliest flood incidents of the previous century, which hit Venezuela in December. The effects of flooding While the death toll is the most critical impact of flooding incidents, it is not the only one. For example, more than ** million people were impacted by floods worldwide in 2023, including those injured, affected or left homeless. In 2010 alone, almost *** million people were affected. Floods also incur massive economic damage by destroying buildings and infrastructure. Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Egypt were the most exposed to river flooding as of 2024. Climate change and flooding As climate change causes global temperatures to rise, floods are expected to increase in frequency and severity. A warmer atmosphere is able to retain more moisture, leading to an increase in intense downpours. It also affects snowmelt patterns. According to a 2022 report, the global population exposed to flood was expected to rise by ** percent in the case of an increase in global temperatures of *** degrees Celsius.

In 2024, there were a total of 145 fatalities reported due to floods in the United States, up from 79 fatalities in the previous year. Since 2010, the highest number of lives lost due to floods in a single year was recorded in 2015, with a total of 189.

In Italy, floods and landslides are rather common and widespread events, which can have serious impacts on the resident population. Trentino-South Tyrol had the highest mortality rate associated with floods and landslides, at **** per 100,000 people. This means that for every 100,000 inhabitants of the region, almost *** of them went missing or died in a given period of time due to floods and landslides. Molise and Lazio are the regions with the lowest death rate, with approximately **** individuals for every 100,000 being victims of flooding and landslides.

In 2023, Africa accounted for over ** percent of flood deaths worldwide, with over ***** fatalities. This stood well over the annual average of the past decade, when the region registered some *** deaths due to floods per year. Asia was also badly hit in 2023, with ***** deaths registered, accounting for ** percent of flood deaths worldwide in that year.

In 2023, there were *** flood disaster events recorded worldwide. This marks a slight decrease from the *** disasters in 2022 but remains significantly higher than the average ** floods per year reported in the 1990s. The peak in the past three decades occurred in 2006, with *** flood disasters.

Devastating human and economic toll Floods continue to take a heavy toll on human lives and economies worldwide. In 2023, approximately ** million people were impacted by flooding, including injuries and displacement. Although the number of people affected by floods has decreased since the beginning of the century, due in large part to an improvement in flood protection, better warning systems, and forecasting, the economic burden they cause has increased. Economic loss caused by floods amounted to *** billion U.S. dollars in the past decade, the highest since the *****. Five of the ten costliest floods since 1900 have occurred after 2010, underscoring the increasing financial burden of these events.

Regional disparities in flood impact The impact of floods varies significantly across regions. In 2023, Africa bore the brunt of flood-related fatalities, accounting for over ** percent of global flood deaths. Asia also suffered severely, with over ***** casualties in 2023. Southeast Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Thailand, are among the most exposed to river flood risk worldwide due to factors such as low elevations, frequent tropical cyclones, and prolonged monsoons.

Floods across India caused a total of *** deaths in 2022, down from some *** deaths recorded in the previous year. Over the last decade, the highest number of deaths due to floods across the country was in 2010, with a death toll of *** people.

The data set analyzes the spatial and temporal distribution, impact and loss of typical global flood disasters from 2018 to 2019. In 2018, there were 109 flood disasters in the world, with a death toll of 1995. The total number of people affected was 12.62 million. The direct economic loss was about 4.5 billion US dollars, which was at a low level in the past 30 years. The number of global flood incidents in 2018 was higher in the first half of the year than in the second half of the year, and the frequency of occurrence was higher from May to July. Therefore, based on three typical disaster events such as the hurricane flood in Florence in the United States in 2018, the flooding of the Niger River in Nigeria in 2018, and the Shouguang flood in Shandong Province in 2018, the disaster background, hazard factors, and disaster situation were analyzed. .

This data set contains information on natural disasters in Tibet of nearly 50 years, including the time, place and the consequences of natural disasters such as drought, snows disasters, frost hazards, hail, floods, gales, and lightning disasters. Tibet is located on the southwest border of China and is the main body of the Tibetan Plateau. Due to the influence of the westerly winds, weather and strong warm and wet air currents from the Indian Ocean, the dry and wet seasons are obvious. In addition, the mountains and forests are numerous, and the terrain is complex in Tibet, which makes Tibet among those regions in China having the highest frequencies of natural disasters. The main meteorological disasters that cause significant damage to the production of agriculture and animal husbandry in Tibet are snows disasters, frost hazards, hail, floods and gales. According to incomplete statistics, the average annual disaster area from 1982 to 2000 was 28,440 hectares, of which the disaster area in 1983 was the largest, 203,700 hectares, followed by 1995 with a disaster area of 133,300 hectares. From the proportions of various disaster areas in the total area affected by the disasters, the proportion under drought is the largest, reaching 38%, followed by that under diseases and insect pests, which was 25%. Tibet is sparsely populated, and the ecological environment is very fragile. Traditional farming and animal husbandry production basically relies on people. Various meteorological disasters have caused heavy losses to the lives and property of the Tibetan people. Snow disasters topped the list of various meteorological disasters in Tibet. Tibet is one of the five largest pastoral areas in the country, and livestock is the most important source of production and livelihood for herdsmen. Snow disasters often cause large numbers of livestock death, significant property losses to herdsmen and threat to their lives. The data are extracted from the Tibet Volume of Chinese Meteorological Disaster Dictionary, with manual entry, summarizing and proofreading.

In 2024, 362 people died due to major natural disasters in the Philippines. The peak number of deaths due to natural calamities was reported in 2013 when Typhoon Haiyan hit various regions in the Visayas and Mindanao.

With a risk index score of ***, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Vietnam are the top countries worldwide regarding river flood risk, based on their physical exposure to this type of event. Thailand followed a close second, with a risk index score of ***. Where are flooding events most common? In 2024, nine out of the top 10 countries in terms of exposure to river flood risk were located in Asia, in particular in the south and eastern regions of the continent. Southeast Asia is prone to frequent and intense flooding events due to several factors, which include low average elevations, high incidence of tropical storms and heavy rains, prolonged monsoons, and underdeveloped flood protection infrastructure. In addition, climate change is also contributing to the increase in frequency and severity of these events. It is estimated that the global population exposed to flooding incidents will increase by ** percent in a two-degrees-Celsius warming scenario. Record-breaking floods in Pakistan and Bangladesh Amongst the countries most exposed to floods in Southeast Asia, Bangladesh and Pakistan were particularly affected by floods in 2022. Torrential rain and unceasing downpours struck the countries from early June that year, leading to one of the worst flooding events in their history. In Pakistan, the floods have caused more than ***** deaths. In Bangladesh, an estimated *** million people were affected by widespread damage to homes, infrastructure, croplands, and sanitation facilities. Overall, Pakistan and Bangladesh had some of the largest populations exposed to flood risk worldwide.

In 2023, the estimated number of people reported missing or killed by natural disasters amounted to around **. The highest number was recorded in 2011, following the Great East Japan Earthquake, which was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan. Both the earthquake and the following tsunami destroyed many Japanese cities and caused a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima Prefecture.  Natural disasters in Japan Since Japan is situated along the Ring of Fire, an area where several tectonic plates meet, it is exposed to a variety of natural disasters. Major earthquakes occur regularly, making the island nation vulnerable to tsunamis due to its oceanic setting. Furthermore, typhoons are likely to approach the archipelago, usually between July and October during the peak of the typhoon season. Tropical cyclones often cause heavy rainfall and flooding.  Damage caused by natural disasters In recent years, typhoons represented the most common cause of damaged facilities. Since the overall number of typhoons increased over the past decade, the amount of damage caused by flooding increased as well. The Japanese government spends a large amount of its disaster risk management budget on disaster reconstruction as well as disaster prevention.

In July 2021, the German states Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, among others, experienced some of the worst flooding in recent German history. Extremely heavy rainfall for ***** days, caused by cyclone Bernd, lead to catastrophic flooding in multiple areas, with subsequent destruction and fatalities. Many places recorded 3-day numbers which significantly exceeded the average for a whole month.