The proportion of people vulnerable to flooding, has increased10 times more than previously thought, according to information collected by satellite data, the The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) reported recently.
Approximately 20 to 24%, an equivalent of about 58 million to 86 million people, moved into flood regions between 2000 and 2015, making them prone to floods.
Worldwide, the total landscape affected by floods is about 2.23 million square kilometers, or about 861,000 square miles. This equates to between 255 million and 290 million people, who were flooded at some point in their lives, between 2000 and 2018.
Researchers estimate that by 2030, climate and demographic change, will add another 25 new countries to the 32 who are already experiencing increasing floods.
Dam breaks caused the most floods, about 177% of incidents.
The other top causes of floods were tropical storms or surges, snow or ice melt.
Population growth in flooded areas is driven by people moving into flood-prone areas, and economic development in those regions.
Nearly 90% of flood events occurred in South and Southeast Asia.
The satellite data uncovered previously unidentified increases in flood exposure in Southern Asia, Southern Latin America and the Middle East.
Bessie Schwarz, CEO and co-founder of Cloud to Street, said the data available in the Global Flood Database can lead to actionable lessons for policy makers and improve the velocity of payments to the survivors of floods.
“In the aftermath of a major flooding event, the greatest determinant of a community’s recovery time and future resilience is how soon they access capital,” Schwarz said. “More people and more assets are impacted by flooding than any other climate-fueled disaster, which in turn keeps poor countries poor and drives up the price of food and housing everywhere. We are proud to enable governments and insurers to protect people and billions of assets they have never been able to before.”
The Global Flood Database has mapped and analyzed 913 flood events in 169 countries since 2000.
The Database relies on satellite observations of actual flooding over the past two decades. This allows for additional analyses of the scope, impact and trends of recent flooding.
Picture: African Risk capacity