Asia is the most flood-affected region in the world. If compared with the whole world, 90 percent of the total population affected by floods live in Asia, according to the latest research of Nature Reviews Earth and Environment. Based on long-term averages, it is found that every year 12 million people are affected by a devastating flood in rivers. They have to leave their homes, suffer financial losses, are injured or even killed
The biggest incidents are those where dams break suddenly and cause flash floods such as was seen in the recent floods in Germany and Belgium. The economic loss caused by floods around the world is approximately US$100 billion. This includes the impacts caused by many major and minor flood events.
Floods affect 90% of people
As for the causes, the researchers report that they have identified a whole network of causes. These include socio-economic factors such as poverty, population growth, living in flood-prone areas, etc., as well as natural causes. All such effects are included in climate change.
The research was carried out by an international team of researchers led by hydrologist Bruno Merz of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (GFZ). Bruno Merz pointed out that Asia has vast floodplains of great rivers and this is where many people live together.
However, for an extreme weather event in which a catastrophic flood occurs, other conditions must also be included, such as a lack of awareness of the hazards or non-existent or failing security and warning systems. Bruno Merz says therefore the primary focus should be on reducing threats to communities. He said that the decline in the number of flood victims around the world in recent decades shows that progress is being made here.
40 million people affected
Many factors affect whether a flood event is catastrophic. Structural failures of dams and dams contribute to catastrophic floods because of their high probability of death. Strong regional and global connectivity and trade, communication, and mobility interdependence are not well understood but can turn even small incidents into disasters.
Risk perception and resources available for risk reduction and adaptation are the main controls of the link between flood events and catastrophic outcomes.
The number of people affected by devastating river floods increased from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s and has since gone from around 150 million people per year to 40 million people affected, and about 10,000 deaths per year to 4, have been reduced to 000.
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