Thousands of people are killed each year by floods – and climate breakdown is making them more likely
Deluges of water are washing away people, homes and livelihoods as extreme rains make rivers burst their banks and high seas help send storm tides surging over coastal walls. How dangerous is flooding – and what can we do to keep ourselves safe?
Floods kill thousands of people each year. The direct death toll is orders of magnitude lower than that of the biggest environmental killers, such as hot weather and dirty air, but scientists are unsure just how big the indirect health burden is. The aftermath of a flood can be even more deadly than the deluge itself, as crops die and disease spreads.
Floods also force vast numbers of people to flee. In 2024, fast-flowing waters displaced more than 19 million people around the world – a mix of precautionary evacuations and washed-away villages. The figure is about the equivalent of pushing every single person in Somalia, Florida or the Netherlands from their home.
Disasters such as storms and floods have become less deadly in recent decades, as people have grown better at managing the risks, but the damage they do varies widely. A person in Somalia may receive no warnings at all before flash floods sweep away their loved ones; someone in Florida may be evacuated to safety but lack home insurance to rebuild their home; a person in the Netherlands may be so well protected by tidal parks and sponge cities that heavy rains may not even register as a threat.
