Flooding is the #1 most common type of natural disaster worldwide, accounting for almost 40% of natural disasters. In terms of fatalities, it is the leading cause of natural disaster deaths. 44% of all people killed worldwide due to natural disasters/weather are killed due to flooding. In 1931 alone, over 3.7 MILLION Chinese died in a series of flooding incidents.
It is the most costly natural disaster in terms of damage. In 1993, flooding caused an average of $2.4 billion dollars damage a year in the US. Between 2003 and 2013, insurance estimates on damage from flooding rose above $4 billion per year. Today those numbers are even higher!
There are three different types of flooding:
- Coastal Flood – typically occurs near oceans, is caused by storm surges and/or tidal waves. Waves can reach as high as 25 feet due to the strength of the storm
- River/bank Flood – occurs when rain or snowfall cause a river to swell past its banks and move inland. In flatter areas, the water could last for days. In mountainous areas, the water is faster but dissipates more quickly. This can also happen when the ground is over saturated and can no longer dissipate it quickly enough
- Flash Flood – a sudden excess of water, generally fast moving. This could be from a huge amount of rain upstream, a sudden release of water from an ice jam, or damage to a dam or levee.
