As a result, floods occurred. What is a flood? maximum rise in water levels

What is a flood?

Flooding is the uncharacteristic presence of a mass of water on the surface of the earth, which, due to its depth, interferes with normal life activities. Floods can be caused by river floods, heavy short-term downpours, or unusually strong influx sea ​​water caused by storm phenomena - hurricanes, high tides, seismic activity or large-scale landslides.

Important things to know about flooding:

River and rain floods usually occur due to abnormal precipitation. large quantity precipitation in a short period of time. Rapid snow melting brings more water into the hydraulic system than can evaporate, causing spring floods. Monsoon river floods occur during the tropical rainy season.

The deposition of silt in riverbeds and the destruction of forests in coastal areas only contributes to flooding river valleys. Buildings in such areas are more susceptible to flooding, especially if they change the structure of the natural drainage system in the region.

Not all floods are harmful. Sometimes they are important source nutrients for cultivated lands, seasonal floods replenish water supplies in dams and underground aquifers, helping to survive in dry areas.

Floods become a disaster when people are not prepared for them, when there are no early warning systems, and strategies for dealing with the disaster have not been developed. Night floods are the most dangerous in this case.

Flood risk criteria:

Any object in a potential flood zone;

Earthen buildings or stone structures with water-soluble bonding material;

Buildings with shallow foundations or low lateral strength;

Roads and bridges;

Basements or underground buildings;

Utility systems;

Industrial and other types of electronic equipment, communications;

Food supplies;

Cultural artifacts;

Fields and gardens;

Locked cattle;

Fishing boats and other water devices.

Flood protection methods:

Raise public awareness about floods and promote precautionary measures:

In the form of special school programs;

Warning signs, evacuation plans, booklets with images of risk areas;

Collect data on previous floods, identify affected areas (flood depth) and note the worst floods.

Conduct a risk assessment:

Determine potential locations of disaster strikes, frequency of floods in the area, objects at risk of flooding;

Distribute maps with this information to local residents so that the risk level for each person can be calculated in advance, an emergency plan can be prepared, and flood protection measures can be known where measures will be required; use maps for educational and propaganda purposes;

Set possible flood level icons;

Prepare a public flood action plan.

Take non-structural measures:

Determine ways to change flood zones to reduce the harmful effects of the disaster;

Organize a high-quality early warning system (weather forecast, high level of readiness of rescue teams and shelters).

Provide explanations to the population about the causes, risks and signs of impending flooding.

Develop an evacuation plan that takes into account the characteristics of all categories of the population.

Take structural measures:

Build dams and reservoirs, ditches and dams, special barrier channels that will help reduce the volume of water;

Provide drinking water protection against pollution, since during flooding it can get into toxic substances and uncleanness.

Ground planning:

If possible, avoid building in areas prone to flooding. Places near rivers should be designated as parks or ecological reserves;

If industrial facilities are located in risk areas, make sure that precautionary measures are taken and plans are in place for the evacuation of equipment and materials;

Protect wetlands and floodplains; restore drained areas;

Save natural vegetation and forest cover in such areas, which helps retain water in the soil;

Ensure that rivers have the opportunity to flow along their natural course, without blocking their path.

Increase the stability of buildings:

Place houses, schools, other public buildings, heating and power supply systems above the flood level;

Use waterproof building materials(concrete, ceramics);

Install waterproof barriers on basement windows and doors;

To prevent the contents of sewer pipes from leaking into the house during a flood, equip them with special valves that prevent backflow;

Buy flood insurance.

Procedure during a flood:

Evacuation based on a developed plan, taking into account the specifics of population groups, with prepared shelters with water, food, and proper sanitary conditions.

Provide evacuees with information about water levels, likely damage, and when to return from shelter.

Make sure that all communications are turned off to avoid injury to people;

Plan for flood recovery costs;

Check how soon schools, government agencies and businesses can resume work, which will significantly simplify post-evacuation measures;

Search temporary work for evacuated residents;

People have long built cities near rivers, seas and other large bodies of water. They served as transport, a source of fish, and natural protection. Modern settlements have been preserved in place of old ones. But at the same time, some of them have become areas of flooding that occur on a regular basis. Why is this happening and what does it mean?

Essence

Most people probably know biblical story about the Great Flood, in which almost all of humanity perished. Perhaps this in itself is an indicator that flooding is extremely dangerous phenomenon, bringing destruction, chaos and death to all living things. They may not look as impressive as earthquakes or typhoons, but their power should not be underestimated.

Flood is essentially the inundation of large areas due to various reasons. They can be either quite rapid or occur gradually. In other words, huge volumes of water end up where they should not be - on land. There are several classifications of floods, both according to the criterion of danger or scale, and according to the consequences.

Quite often, floods accompany other natural disasters. Thus, an earthquake may be accompanied by a tsunami and subsequent flooding of coastal areas. After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans also experienced flooding, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

Causes of floods

They may occur due to various events, and this affects their character. If we talk about more or less general causes of floods, they can be as follows:

• Prolonged precipitation. Heavy and prolonged rains in low-lying areas create a situation where moisture simply has nowhere to go. If she doesn’t have time to leave, flooding results.
• Rapid melting of snow. Sometimes in spring the temperature rises very quickly and sharply. At this time, all the snow that fell during the winter begins to melt. If its volume is large, there is a danger of both local and fairly extensive flooding.
• Raising the bottom of reservoirs. In any river or lake, over time, some sediments appear in the form of remains of dead organisms and plants, silt, and sometimes even garbage. This can cause the seabed to rise and, accordingly, change the coastline, sometimes with flooding of areas that were previously out of danger.
• Reservoir breakthrough. Any engineering structures built by man have their own margin of safety. Sometimes dams fail due to some event, and then a destructive, but rather short-lived flood can be expected.
• Tsunami. A wave formed in the ocean after strong tremors quite regularly devastates coastal areas, for example, countries Southeast Asia.

An additional contributing factor to flooding can be clogged drains in the city's sewer system, which can result in consequences that are much more devastating than they otherwise would be. What could they be like?

Consequences

Flooding, as has already become clear, is no joke. It has some damaging factors. As you know, water is a universal solvent. With prolonged exposure to some materials, it can completely destroy them. Cracks appear in the walls of houses and agricultural crops are destroyed. Another serious danger is the wave itself, if the flood is fast enough. It literally demolishes the walls of buildings, leaving behind rubble, under which people remain. There is a special classification indicating the scale and danger of each specific flood:

• Small or low. Observed during a spill large rivers in low flat areas. They are characterized by a relatively small scale and practically do not affect the rhythm of life of the population.
• Dangerous. Cover up to 20% of agricultural land and have enough large areas. Often lead to partial evacuation.
• Particularly dangerous. They disrupt the usual way of life and paralyze agriculture, covering up to 70% of crops. Lead to mass evacuation.
• Catastrophic. They cause enormous moral and material damage, one or more populated areas are flooded, and there are casualties. Hundreds of thousands of people are being evacuated, and a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe is occurring.

Yes, a flood is not a sudden earthquake; you can often protect yourself from it. But it’s hard to argue with the fact that this is still an extremely dangerous phenomenon.

High Risk Areas

Low-lying areas, near which there are large bodies of water, are the first to be hit. For example, Venice is regularly flooded, despite any countermeasures. The same can be said about the Netherlands. The capital of this country, Amsterdam, has been battling the elements for a long time, fighting the sea for every meter of land. There are also areas in Egypt where the Nile overflows especially abundantly, but this happens regularly and naturally.

There are cities located at the mouths of large rivers or simply along their beds. Their residents also may not always feel safe.

Countermeasures

Fortunately, in most cases, scientists can more or less accurately predict flooding. In this case, the number of victims and casualties is significantly reduced, since it is usually possible to begin evacuation in time. If flooding is regular and not too large-scale, it makes sense to build special buildings: dams and sluices that can protect the city from rising water levels. When flooding has already happened, all that remains is to clear the rubble and save people while waiting for the moisture to subside.

People who know about increased danger floods in their area, should be familiar with the algorithm of actions in the event of a disaster. First of all, it is worth studying the location of the hills and the safest places nearby. If there is information about a disaster, you must follow everything recommended by local authorities. If they tell you to stay at home, you should do so. If evacuation is organized, instructions must be followed. Before leaving the house, you need to turn off all communications as much as possible and secure light items.

Floods in Russia

The areas in the Russian Federation where flooding occurs most frequently are St. Petersburg and Krasnodar region. In the latter region, this natural disaster occurs almost every year. The last major one happened in 2012, when the city of Krymsk suffered the most from the disaster, which was almost completely destroyed.

In 2013, a large-scale natural disaster was observed in the Far East. It was due to the fact that in about a month more than the annual norm of precipitation fell over the territory, as a result of which the rivers overflowed their banks. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the previous winter was very snowy, and spring came late, so the hydraulic systems were already saturated. Despite the enormous scale of the flood, no deaths were reported in Russia, while in China the number of victims and missing people was almost 200.

In St. Petersburg, hydrologists have been closely monitoring the behavior of rivers and canals for many years, tracking the slightest rise in water levels. Fortunately, in recent years serious problems was not observed.

A dangerous natural phenomenon that occurs due to rising water levels in reservoirs and leads to flooding of areas is called a flood. Mostly occurs due to snow melting in spring or during the rainy season. A flood can destroy everything in its path and cause serious material damage to a person. Fortunately, large-scale disasters are very rare. Next, we will take a closer look at the main causes of floods.

Causes of floods

1. Long rains are the first cause of floods. They are mainly found in regions with humid climate, summer or autumn. Prolonged rains lead to rivers and lakes overflowing their banks, which in turn flood everything in their path.

2. Floods can occur due to melting snow. In many regions, large amounts of snow accumulate in the spring, which, under the influence of sudden warming, begins to melt and flood areas.

3. Rising river bottoms is another cause of floods. This happens due to the accumulation of precipitation.

4. Tsunami. During this natural phenomenon a large amount of water floods everything around, causing serious material damage.

5. Floods can occur due to the destruction of dams. It cannot contain the flow of water, which leads to flooding of the surrounding area.

6. Groundwater due to the destruction of tectonic plates can come to the surface and flood the land.

7. Hurricanes and strong winds can create huge waves, which in turn flood the coastline.

8. Main cause of the spill mountain rivers are sat down.

9. Accidents at hydraulic structures. An accident at a hydroelectric power station can have catastrophic consequences for the environment.

10. Human factor. Every person can make a mistake. Floods can even occur due to improper installation of storm drains.

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History remembers several of the most terrible floods; such natural disasters also occurred in Russia, including in St. Petersburg. Several devastating floods occurred in the 20th century.

The worst floods in history

In historical chronicles you can read about many severe floods that carried away several hundred thousand human lives. Because natural disasters like these happen unexpectedly, people are left unprepared for them.

Some floods occur due to river overflows, dam failures, incessant rainfall, ocean earthquakes and tsunamis. We know about floods that were deliberately caused by people.

Flood of St. Mary Magdalene

One of the most destructive floods occurred in 1342. It is considered the largest in Central Europe. Several rivers overflowed their banks at once: the Rhine, Weser, Main, Moselle, Werra, Elbe, etc. Having flooded the surrounding lands, the water harmed such large European cities as Cologne, Passau, Vienna, Regensburg, Frankfurt am Main.

The reason was heavy rains that had been falling for several days. Exact number It is unknown who drowned; we can say that there were several thousand of them. This natural disaster was called the St. Mary Magdalene Flood.

Burchardi flood

More than eight thousand people were killed by a flood that occurred in 1634 in Denmark and Germany. Because of hurricane wind A storm surge of water began, leading to a dam failure in several places along the North Sea coast.

The communities of North Frisia and many coastal towns were flooded. This flood is called the Burchardi flood.

Floods on the Yellow River

As you know, the Yellow River is one of the most capricious rivers in China. She is famous frequent floods, and more than once its waters have claimed many human lives. The largest Yellow River spills occurred in 1887 and 1938.

In 1887, after prolonged rains, multiple dam breaks occurred. Due to the flooding, almost two million people lost their homes and nine hundred thousand people died. In 1938, the flood was provoked by the Nationalist government, thus wanting to stop the advance of Japanese troops into China. Many villages and thousands of hectares of agricultural land were destroyed, almost five hundred thousand people drowned, and millions became refugees.

The worst floods of the 20th century

In the 20th century, unfortunately, there were also floods. One of them happened in China in 1931 on a river called the Yangtze. It is estimated that about four million people died. This is the flood after Flood considered the strongest. Four million houses were demolished, three hundred thousand square kilometers were covered in water.

In 1970, severe flooding occurred in the Ganges Delta in India. It claimed the lives of five hundred thousand people. It was caused by the waters of the Kosi River and heavy monsoon rains. Having broken the dam, the waters of the Kosi changed their course and flooded a huge region that had never before been subject to flooding.

In 1927, a flood called the “Great” occurred in America. The waters of the Mississippi overflowed their banks due to heavy rains. Flooding affected the territory of ten states, reaching ten meters in depth in some places. In order to avoid flooding New Orleans, it was decided to blow up a dam near the city. As a result, other areas were flooded. About five hundred thousand people died.

At the end of April 1991, the devastating cyclone Marian raised a nine-meter wave off the coast of Bangladesh. The flood resulted in the death of one hundred and forty thousand people. Lands flooded with salt water for many years became unsuitable for agriculture.

Floods in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg suffered from floods quite often. The city was flooded at least three hundred and thirty times. In different areas you can see memorial plaques on houses showing the water level. There are about twenty such tablets.

In 1691, even before the founding of St. Petersburg, when the territory of the city was under the Swedes, it was also flooded by the waters of the Neva. This is evidenced by Swedish chronicles, according to which the water level in the river rose to seven hundred and sixty-two centimeters.

The worst flood occurred in 1824. According to various estimates, from two hundred to six hundred thousand citizens died as a result. It is known that the water level in the Neva has risen by more than four meters. Many houses were destroyed and flooded. Before the flood began heavy rain, followed by a sharp rise in water.

The worst flood in the world - the Great Flood: myth or reality

Not only the Bible tells about the Great Flood; many peoples living in almost all parts of the planet have similar descriptions of the terrible flood. You can read about the flood in the myths of the Indians of California, it is described in ancient Mexican manuscripts, and the myths of the Canadian Indians. It is known about the Japanese “variant” of the flood. Quite rarely, it is reported by manuscripts found in the interior regions of Africa and Asia, which are located at a considerable distance from the oceans and seas.

We can conclude that many legends about the flood are associated with certain local phenomena that led to a sharp rise in water levels. Scientists have expressed several versions of the occurrence of a powerful flood. Most likely, the so-called Great Flood occurred in different corners Earth, each region had its own and had its own on different continents own reasons occurrence.

Floods also bring with them giant waves. .
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FLOOD, significant temporary flooding of an area with water as a result of a rise in its level in a river, lake, reservoir, sea, associated with social, economic, environmental damage, damage to health or loss of life. Natural disasters, as natural disasters, occupy first place in the world in terms of frequency and area of ​​distribution (in terms of the number of human casualties they are inferior to earthquakes), and are closely related to dangerous meteorological phenomena. Based on the reasons that cause them, N. are divided into: natural, anthropogenic (technogenic), and natural-anthropogenic. Natural N., caused almost exclusively by natural factors, are caused by: intensive melting of snow and ice; heavy rains; ice jams and gluttons; collapse into rivers and reservoirs of large volumes rocks or snow and ice during landslides, earthquakes, snow avalanches, glacier movements; wind surges from the lake or sea, as well as tsunami. Often N. are the result of a combination of several of stated reasons. Anthropogenic N. most often occurs as a result of destruction hydraulic structures caused by incorrect hydrological calculations, the use of low-quality materials in the construction of these structures, operational errors, as well as as a result of military operations or terrorist acts. Natural-anthropogenic N. are caused by the combined influence of natural and anthropogenic factors. To the greatest extent, the increase in size and increased frequency of occurrence of such N. are associated with climate change and deforestation. Hydrological studies in various regions of the world have shown that as a result of deforestation, the maximum runoff of floods and floods from deforested areas increases several times. The threat of N. is also increased by massive drainage of swamps; irrational agricultural practices leading to a decrease in the infiltration properties of the soil and an increase in the area of ​​eroded land; urbanization of the territory associated with an increase in waterproof areas; development of river floodplains, reducing them throughput. Natural-anthropogenic soils also include those formed as a result of the destruction of hydraulic structures during the passage of maximum water flows in the river, as well as as a result of any other type of human activity that contributes to the creation of favorable conditions for the formation of soil.

On the territory of Russia and other northern countries N. prevails during the spring flood, caused by intense, almost simultaneous snowmelt over vast areas, especially in conditions of frozen soil, heavily moistened in the fall and large snow reserves, often accompanied by heavy rainfall and ice jams. The water level may rise by 10–20 m or more. One of the largest floods in the central part of European Russia, caused mainly by the melting of large snow reserves, occurred in the spring of 1908, when about 15 km were flooded 2 in Moscow. Ice jams often occur in rivers in which snowmelt, floods and ice drift begin from the upper reaches of the river. These are usually rivers flowing from south to north. These include the Northern Dvina, Ob, Yenisei, and Lena. The thick ice cover that remained at the beginning of the flood and ice drift in the middle and lower parts of the river creates obstacles for the passage of masses of water and ice arriving from more southern regions, contributing to the formation of jams and a rise in the water level. Especially favorable conditions To form congestions, they are created in places where the channel narrows. The rise in water level during ice jams often exceeds 10 m, as happened during the flood on the Lena River in May 2001, when a significant part of the city of Lensk was flooded due to an ice jam about 100 km long. Late autumn and in winter, ice can form as a result of ice jams - clogging of the river bed with accumulations of inland ice. On most of the land globe N., caused by heavy rains, predominate. It was precisely such N., according to a number of experts, that served as the prototype of the Great Flood. Negligence is especially significant in areas where tropical cyclones (typhoons) are frequent, when up to several hundred mm of precipitation falls over a relatively short period of time. These are the coasts of China, the countries of Indochina, India, Bangladesh, the countries of Central America, the West Indies, the south and southeast of the United States. Large amounts of precipitation are often accompanied by a surge of water from the sea. In Russia, floods of rain origin are most common in the Far East, especially in the Amur basin, and they occur here most often in the fall, during the monsoon. N. caused by rains is also common in the North Caucasus. One of the most destructive disasters took place here in 2002. In the mountains, heavy rains, often combined with intense melting of glaciers and snowfields, cause mud-stone flows - sat down with huge destructive force. Mudflows and associated disasters can also be caused by ice movements, largely caused by tectonic and volcanogenic factors.

Among the landslides caused by waves of displacement due to the collapse of rocks, one of the most catastrophic was the rock landslide that formed as a result of the collapse in 1963 in the Vajont reservoir on the Piave River (Italy). The thickness of the layer of water that overflowed the crest of the dam reached 70 m. And although the dam stood, this wave led to the destruction of a row settlements and the death of more than 3 thousand people.

N., caused by surges of water, are frequent on the coasts of the North Sea, including the Netherlands, Germany, and Great Britain. In Russia, such floods are best known at the mouth of the Neva River in St. Petersburg, caused by strong winds from the Gulf of Finland; they are considered dangerous when the water level rises more than 2.1 m above the level (ordinary) of the Gulf of Finland along the Kronstadt waterline. Over more than 300 years of observations at the mouth of the Neva, about 300 accidents occurred, of which the largest were in 1824 (4.21 m), 1924 (3.8 m), 1777 (3.21 m).

The most destructive disaster caused by the tsunami occurred on the coast Indian Ocean 12/26/2004. The main impact of the disaster fell on a coastal strip about 1 km wide, which was hit by several waves moving at speeds of up to 1000 km/h. According to various estimates, from 140 to 300 thousand people died. The damage in the countries of Southeast Asia alone is estimated at $20 billion (S. G. Dobrovolsky, M. N. Istomina, 2006).

Of the disasters caused by the destruction of dams, one of the most severe in its consequences was the disaster in Johnstown (USA) in 1889, when more than 2 thousand people died. In Russia in 1994, a disaster occurred that resulted in human casualties, caused by the destruction of the relatively small Tirlyan hydroelectric complex on the Belaya River in Bashkiria. There were no destructions of large dams in Russia. At the same time, microfloods occur almost every year, caused by the destruction of small earthen dams on small rivers.

There are several classifications of N. according to size and damage caused. The Dartmouth Observatory of the University of Hanover, USA, which has been maintaining a global cadastre (register) of the largest N. since 1985, usually divides them into 3 classes: 1st - repeatability 1 time in 10–20 years with the probability (probability) of exceeding those occurring in this case maximum water levels 10–5%; 2nd – repeatability 1 time in 20–100 years (probability 5–1%); 3rd (largest) - repeatability 1 time in 100 years or less (probability 1% or less). Dartmouth Observatory data for the period 1985–2009. systematized growth. hydrologist A. A. Taratunin: more than 3600 N. have been recorded worldwide, including 1st class 2898, 2nd class 582, 3rd class 147. From total number almost half (48%) are in Asia (1727), North and Central America and the West Indies - 613, Africa - 508, Europe - 344, South America– 273, Australia and Oceania – 158. Of the most dangerous N. (3rd class), Asia accounts for 39%, Europe – 20%, North and Central America – 17%, Australia and Oceania – approx. 12%, South America – 5%. From selected countries greatest number During the period under review, N. was observed in the United States (352) and China (316). This is followed by India (199), Indonesia (155), Philippines (149), Vietnam (104). The total damage for only ¼ of the floods recorded in the cadastre in the world amounted to 833 billion US dollars, and the actual damage from all floods is estimated at no less than 2000 billion dollars, i.e. 80–100 billion dollars. annually. During the disaster, more than 650 million people were evacuated from flood zones and affected regions, and the death toll exceeded 592 thousand people.

Due to the change climatic conditions, as well as the development of potentially dangerous lands from the standpoint of possible flooding, the number of floods has been growing in recent years, as has the damage from them, despite the implementation of a set of measures aimed at protecting against them and reducing negative consequences. If we compare two periods, 1985–97 and 1998–2009, then the total number of N. has almost doubled on average. Almost every two days at the beginning. 21st century N. happens in the world and every 40 days something catastrophic happens. Similar dynamics can be seen in other national indicators, such as an increase in the area of ​​annually flooded lands - 1.8 times (up to 18.5 million km 2 ), the number of evacuated people - from 19.5 to 33 million people, the number of deaths - from 17.2 to 30.7 thousand people; total damage increased from 24.9 to 42.5 billion dollars.

Russia, despite the fact that it ranks first in the world in terms of territory and second (after Brazil) in average annual river flow, due to the peculiarities of climatic and economic conditions, is not one of the countries with the highest number of disasters and damage from them , it accounts for only approx. 3% of the total number of N. in the world (97 N., including 31 in European territory, 66 in Asian territory). According to other estimates, the number of N. is much greater. In 1998–2002 alone, 122 N. were recorded (55 on European territory, 67 on Asian territory). A. A. Taratunin explains this difference by the fact that the authors included in the number of N. the smallest recurrences once in the interval of 1–10 years. As throughout the world, the number of N. in Russia and the damage from them tend to increase. This also applies to catastrophic accidents. In the 21st century. N. in Russia have become most active in the North Caucasus, in the Lena basin, in the south Western Siberia and in the Far East. Due to ongoing climate changes, floods caused by spring floods are becoming less common, and floods caused by rain floods are becoming more frequent.

One of the most severe consequences in terms of its consequences in Russia occurred in 2012 in the city of Krymsk, main reason which was caused by intense precipitation, which caused extreme water flow rates (over 1200 m 3 /c) in the Adagum River. The water level in the river rose by 7–9 m. The number of victims was 171 people. The height of the water level rise, the number of victims and damage could have been less if the bed of the river and its tributaries had not been littered, and its coastal strip Contrary to safety requirements, it was not built up. There were miscalculations in notifying the population and in organizing the rescue of people at night.

Extreme N. in the Amur basin in 2013 was caused by record-breaking duration monsoon rains, covering almost the entire basin in Russia and China. A stable area has formed to the north and northeast of this territory high pressure, which diverted moisture-carrying air currents, which usually had a direction from southeast to northwest, toward the Amur basin for a long period of time. The restriction of the river bed by various buildings, including dams, on the Chinese bank, long-term deforestation, and the unsatisfactory condition of many dams also played a role. Zeya and Bureya hydroelectric complexes on the tributaries of the Amur– Zee and Bureya, as well as numerous, albeit small, reservoirs in China played a generally positive role, especially in the initial stage of the formation of the flood, but by the time of its peak, many of them were filled and were forced to discharge accumulated water to avoid destruction . As a result, the water rise near Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur exceeded 8 and 9 m, and vast areas were flooded.

Total number catastrophic disasters in the world over the historical period far exceed those given in the materials of the Dartmouth Observatory for 1985–2009. Information about some of them is given in the table. It's obvious that greatest number They were recorded in Europe, where these floods have been tracked for a very long time and the damage data is the most reliable.

Damage from N. is significantly reduced thanks to the measures taken, including: improving N. forecasts; landscape organization of the territory, increasing its forest cover, promoting more uniform flow in the catchment area; creation of hydraulic structures and reservoirs that allow regulating river flow; early warning of the population living in areas of potential flooding. Costs of prevention and mitigation natural disasters much less than to eliminate their consequences. The most radical protective measure is the creation of hydraulic structures: the Moskvoretsky reservoirs secured Moscow, the Volga-Kama cascade of reservoirs protected cities and settlements along the banks of the Volga and Kama. Currently, a complex of protective structures has been completed, completely securing St. Petersburg from N. Measures to reduce surface runoff in river catchment areas are most effective. arr. in relation to relatively small and medium-sized floodplains, in relation to the largest ones, usually accompanied by oversaturation of soils and soils in the drainage area with water, the effectiveness of these measures is sharply reduced.

Some outstanding and catastrophic floods

Date	Place	Cause	Consequences (casualties, damage)
Europe
1470 BC e.	Ancient Greece, Eastern Mediterranean	Eruption of Santorini volcano with accompanying earthquake and giant tsunami waves	The basis of the legend about the destruction of Atlantis. Massive destruction in coastal zone Mediterranean Sea. Death of many people
373 BC e.	Ancient Greece	Earthquake, tsunami	The cities of Gilika and Bura were destroyed
69 n. e.	Ancient Rome	Rain flood on the river. Tiber	Death of many people
365	Southern Europe, Adriatic coast	Earthquake caused by tsunami, land subsidence	Almost half of the city of Epidaurus on the Peloponnese Peninsula is swallowed up by the sea
516	The North Sea coast between the mouths of the modern rivers Weser and Rhine	Surge of water from the sea	6 thousand people
551	Byzantium, Aegean coast	Earthquake, tsunami	Mass loss of life
563	Territory of modern Switzerland	Break of the natural dam of the river. Rhone directly in front of Lake Geneva.	2 thousand people The small Roman city of Taurentunum was completely destroyed.
838, December 26	Territory of modern Netherlands	Surge of water from the sea	2437 people
865	Western Europe, the mouth of the modern river. Rhine	Surge of water from the sea	The city of Dorestad, as well as surrounding villages and towns, was under water
1014	Holland County	Surge of water from the sea	Thousands of dead
1099	England, County Holland	Surge of water from the sea	100 thousand people
1128	Eastern Europe, basins of modern rivers Volga, Dnieper, Volkhov	Spring flood	Destruction of buildings, loss of life, including from starvation due to the destruction of crops
1164	Eastern Europe, basin of the modern river. Dniester	Rain flood with a maximum rise in the water level in the river. Dniester at 7.5 m	300 people
1164	Territory of modern Germany	Sea surge caused by a cyclone	100 thousand people
1200	Holland	Surge of water from the sea	100 thousand people
1212	Holland	Surge of water from the sea	From 60 to 306 thousand people. Flooding of the northern part of Holland.
1219	Holland	Surge of water from the sea	36 thousand people
1269-70	Territory of modern Poland	Rain floods	Several hundred people.
1285	Modern Germany, the mouth of the river. Elbe	Surge of water from the sea	More than 60 thousand people.
1287	Holland	Surge of water from the sea	40 thousand people
1362	Coast of England, Denmark, Holland	Surge of water from the sea	25 thousand people
1421, November	Holland		100 thousand people The city of Dordrecht was completely destroyed.
1530, November	Holland	Water surge from the sea, dam breaking	4 thousand people
1570	Holland	Water surge from the sea, dam breaking	50 thousand people
1574, October	Holland, Leiden	Water surge from the sea, dam breaking	20 thousand Spanish soldiers besieging Leiden
1607	Russia, Moscow	Spring flood	Flooding of the territory, destruction of buildings
1703, December	England, Netherlands	Surge of water from the sea	More than 30 thousand people, mostly sailors. Death of ships in ports.
1709	Russia, Volga and Dnieper river basins	Spring flood	Great destruction, loss of life
1755	Portugal, Lisbon	Earthquake, tsunami waves 15–20 m high	60-70 thousand people. Massive destruction.
1777	Russia, St. Petersburg	The surge of water from the Gulf of Finland, which increased the water level in the river. Neva 310 cm above ordinary	The first catastrophic flood in St. Petersburg, causing massive loss of life
1824, November 19	Russia, St. Petersburg	The surge of water from the Gulf of Finland, which increased the water level in the river. Neva 410 cm above ordinary	From 208 to 569 people. 2/3 of the city is flooded
1825	North Sea coast	Water surge from the sea, destruction of dams	800 people
1908	Russia, Moscow	Spring flood on the river. Moscow with a water level rise of 10.5 m	1/5 of the city is flooded
1908	Italy, Messina	Earthquake, tsunami	160-250 thousand people.
1924, September 23	USSR, Leningrad	The surge of water from the Gulf of Finland, which increased the water level in the river. Neva is 369 cm above ordinary	A large part of the city was flooded
1931	USSR, river basin Dnieper	Spring flood as a result of rapid melting of large snow reserves	Great destruction
1951	Italy, river valley By	Rain floods, dam failures	More than 100 people
1952	England, seaside resort Lynmouth	Rain floods on the Western and Eastern Lin rivers with a water rise of 15 m	34 people
1953	Netherlands	Water surge from the sea, dam breaking	1835 people
1954	Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, river basin Danube	Rapid snow melting, rain floods	Death of many people
1959	France, Frejus	Heavy rains, destruction of the Malpasse dam 8 km above the lake. Alpin	423 people Complete destruction of the city
1962	Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, North Sea coast	Surge of water from the sea	2.5 thousand people
1962, September 26	Spain, cities of Costa Bravo, Barcelona, ​​Sabadell, Tarrasa	Heavy rains, flooding	445 people, 10 thousand people. left homeless
1963	Italy, river basin Piave	Earthquake, landslide that displaced water from the reservoir and created a giant 70-meter wave	The P. Vayont dam survived, but the wave that overwhelmed it led to catastrophic destruction and the death of more than 2.5 thousand people.
1966, November	Italy, Florence	Heavy rains, overflow of the reservoir on the river. Arno	The graves of G. Galileo, Michelangelo, N. Machiavelli, G. Rossini, and the largest collection of books in Italy - the State Library - were flooded. Many masterpieces of painting and architecture were lost irretrievably
1968, November	Italy, province of Piedmont, Strona valley	Rain floods	Destroyed approx. 1,500 small businesses; 3.5 thousand people were seriously damaged
1974	USSR, Northern river basins. Dvina, Pechora	Very high spring flood with ice jams on the river. Pechora	Flooding of the cities of Syktyvkar, Kotlas and many other settlements
1985, July 19	Italy, resort Stava	Destruction of an earthen dam holding water from two artificial lakes	250 people, approx. 1 thousand people were injured
2000, October	UK, Ireland	Rain floods	13 people, 6 thousand people evacuated. Damage: $3 billion
2002, June	Russia, North Caucasus		114 people, 106 thousand people were evacuated, 287 thousand people were injured. Tens of thousands of residential buildings were destroyed and damaged
2002, August	Austria, Hungary, Germany, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Elbe and Danube river basins	Rain floods, mudflows	55 people, 250 thousand people. evacuated. Damage over $20 billion.
2004, August	United Kingdom	Rain floods	Damage over $1 billion.
2008, July	Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary	Rain floods	42 people, approx. evacuated. 40 thousand people Damage in Ukraine alone is 0.6-1 billion dollars.
2012, July 7	Russia, river basin Kuban, Krymsk	Rain flood, which caused a rise in the water level in the river. Adagum at 7-9 m	171 people Flooding of the city
Asia
2356 BC e.	Territory modern China, river basin Yellow River	Rain floods	The Yellow River changed its course and began to flow into the hall. Jeli in modern Tianjin
2297 BC e.	basins of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers	Rain floods	Flooding of the entire Great Chinese Plain
329 BC e.	Interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers	Rain floods
1194 n. e.	The territory of modern China, river basin Yellow River
1642	China, Haiphong, now Vietnamese territory		300 thousand people
1737	India, Bay of Bengal coast	Typhoon, surge of water	300 thousand people
1841	Territory of modern Kazakhstan, the Malaya and Bolshaya Alma-Atinka rivers	Mudflows	1000 people
1864, October 5	India	Typhoon, surge of water	50 thousand people
1876	India, Bay of Bengal	Typhoon, surge of water with a wave of 12-14 m	100 thousand people 700 km 2 flooded. Ships washed ashore
1882, June 6	India, Bombay	Typhoon, surge of water	100 thousand people
1883	Indonesia, Java and Sumatra		From 36 to 80 thousand people.
1887, September 7	China, river basin Yellow River		The most destructive of the previous floods on the river. Yellow River. 78 thousand square meters were flooded. km. Between 1.2 and 2.5 million people died. The total number of victims is 7 million people.
1896	Japan	Tsunami	More than 27 thousand people.
1898	India, river mouth Ganges	Wave surge approx. 12 m	300 thousand people
1905, April 4	India, Kangra		19 thousand people
1906	China, Hong Kong	Typhoon, surge of water	10 thousand people
1910	China, Shinsai Gorge	Mudflow 4 m high	400 people
1911	China, Yangtze basin		Several provinces are flooded. 200 thousand people
1911	Pamir, r. Murgab		The village went under water. Sarez, Lake Sarez was formed.
1912	Taiwan	Typhoon, surge of water	107 thousand people
1918	Japan, Tokyo	Typhoon, surge of water	1619 people
1919	Inonesia, o. Java		5.5 thousand people
1921, July 8	Kazakhstan, Almaty
1923, September 1	Japan, gg. Tokyo, Yokohama	Earthquake, tsunami high. 10 m	200 thousand people, approx. 1 million people homeless
1928, August		Rain floods	The city of Zeya was destroyed
1931			One of the most catastrophic floods. 3.7 million people died, approx. 60 million
1933	Japan, o. Honshu	20 meter tsunami wave	3 thousand people
1933	China	Rain floods, dam failures	18 thousand, approx. affected. 4 million people
1934, September 21	Japan, Osaka	Typhoon, surge of water	4 thousand people
1935, July 4	China, river basin Yellow River	Rain floods, dam failures	3 thousand, approx. damaged. 5 million people
1938	China, river basin Yellow River		500 thousand people
1942		Water surge	40 thousand people
1948, August 7	China, river basin Minjiang	Rain floods	3.5 thousand people
1950	India, Assam		1-2 thousand people
1952, November 5	USSR, Severokurilsk	Tsunami
1954	China, Tibet	Lake overflow Takr Tzola above Shigatse	0.5-1 thousand people Lama's residence damaged
1954	China, river basin Yangtze		More than 40 thousand people.
1954, September 26	Japan	Water surge	2 thousand people
1955	India	Rain floods	28 thousand villages were washed away. 1.7 thousand people
1956, August 2	China	Typhoon Wanda, surge of water	2 thousand people
1963, July 7	Kazakhstan, outskirts of Almaty
1964	Japan, o. Honshu	Earthquake, tsunami	108 people
1968, August 7-14	India. State of Gujarat	Rain floods	More than 2 thousand people.
1969, April-June	USSR, south of Western Siberia	Spring flood	Flooded and submerged approx. 300 of us. Points Damage over $80 million.
1970, November 12	Bangladesh		200 thousand people
1971, November	India, river basin Ganges	Rain floods	From 500 thousand to 1.5 million people.
1972	South Korea	Rain floods	638 people
1976	Philippines, o. Mindanao		More than 5 thousand people.
1978, September	India, Bengal state	Rain floods	1.3 thousand people, 15 million were left homeless
1983	Thailand	Rain floods	10 thousand people
1993	South of Iran	Rain floods
1995, May 15 – August 15	China	Rain floods
1998, June 14-25	Eastern China	Rain floods	OK. 9 thousand people One of the largest losses - 210 (?) billion dollars.
1999, October–November	Eastern India	Rain floods, surges of water
2000, August–October	River pool Mekong	Rain floods	More than 0.1 thousand people. More than 6.5 million people were evacuated. Damage approx. $0.8 billion
2001	Philippines, southern China	Typhoon Utor	OK. 200 people Damage over $3 billion.
2001, May	Russia, Yakutia, Lensk, Yakutsk, Olekminsk		Approximately died. 10 people The city of Lensk was flooded and approx. 60 thousand of us. points. Damaged approx. 50 thousand people Damage over $200 million.
2002		Rain floods	124 people 270 thousand evacuated. Damage 2.2 billion dollars.
2003, September 12–15	South Korea	Rain floods
2004, December 26		An underwater earthquake with a magnitude of 9 to 9.3 on the Richter scale, a tsunami from high. waves up to 30 m.
2005, July–August	India, states of Maharashtra, Goa	Rain floods	More than 1 thousand people. Damage to St. $3.5 billion
2007	China, river basin Yangtze	Rain floods	600 people More than 3 million were evacuated. Damage: $4.25 billion
2007	Southwestern coast of Bangladesh	Typhoon "Sidr". Water surge
2009	South India	Rain floods	303 people Damage: $4 billion
2009, August 17	Russia, Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP
2011, October	Thailand, Cambodia	Rain floods	OK. 500 people Damage: $2 billion
2013, August-September	Russia, China, Amur basin	Rain floods with a rise in the Amur water level near Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur by 8-9 m	Damage 40 billion rubles. according to Russia parts of the pool; 15 billion dollars - according to Chinese.
329 BC	Interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates	Rain floods	The troops of Alexander the Great were forced to retreat from Babylon, which they were besieging.
1194	China, Yellow River basin	Rain floods. Destruction of protective dams	Flooding of a vast area; r. The Yellow River began to flow into the sea 500 km south of its previous location
1642	China, Haiphong	Rain floods. Dam destruction	300 thousand people
1737	India, coast of the Bay of Bengal.	Typhoon, surge of water	300 thousand people
1841	Kazakhstan, pp. Small and Big Alma-Atinka	Mudflows	1000 people
1864, October 5	India	Typhoon, surge of water	50 thousand people
1876	India, Bengal Hall.	Typhoon, surge of water with a wave of 12-14 m	100 thousand people 700 square meters flooded. km. Ships washed ashore
1882, June 6	India, Bombay	Typhoon, surge of water	100 thousand people
1883	Indonesia, Java and Sumatra	Krakatau volcano eruption, earthquake, tsunami	From 36 to 80 thousand people.
1887, September 7	China, river basin Yellow River	Rain flood, destruction of a 750-meter section of the dam	The most destructive of the previous floods on the river. Yellow River. 78 thousand km 2 were flooded. Between 1.2 and 2.5 million people died. The total number of victims is 7 million people.
1896	Japan	Tsunami	More than 27 thousand people.
1898	India, river mouth Ganges	Wave surge of about 12 m	300 thousand people
1905, April 4	India, Kangra	Earthquake, landslides, dammed rivers	19 thousand people
1906	China, Hong Kong	Typhoon, surge of water	10 thousand people
1910	China, Shinsai Gorge	Mudflow 4 m high	400 people
1911	China, river basin Yangtze	Rain floods, dam failures	200 thousand people Several provinces flooded
1911	Pamir, r. Murgab	Earthquake, landslide blocking the river	The village went under water. Sarez, Lake Sarez was formed.
1912	Taiwan	Typhoon, surge of water	107 thousand people
1918	Japan, Tokyo	Typhoon, surge of water	1619 people
1919	Indonesia, Java island	Eruption of Kelud volcano, release of water from the crater lake	5.5 thousand people
1921, July 8	Territory of modern Kazakhstan, Almaty	Mudflow in the river basin Malaya Alma-Atinka	Death of many residents of the city and its environs
1923, September 1	Japan, cities of Tokyo, Yokohama	Earthquake, tsunami 10 m high	200 thousand people, about 1 million people. homeless
1928, August	USSR, Far East, river basin Zeya	Rain floods	The city of Zeya was destroyed
1931	China, Yangtze and Yellow River basins	Rain floods, dam failures	One of the most catastrophic floods. 3.7 million people died, about 60 million people were injured.
1933	Japan, Honshu Island	20 meter tsunami wave	3 thousand people
1933	China	Rain floods, dam failures	18 thousand people, about 4 million people were affected.
1934, September 21	Japan, Osaka	Typhoon, surge of water	4 thousand people
1935, July 4	China, river basin Yellow River	Rain floods, dam failures	3 thousand people, about 5 million people were affected.
1938	China, river basin Yellow River	Destruction of dams to stop the advance of Japanese troops	500 thousand people
1942	Bangladesh, coastal area	Water surge	40 thousand people
1948, August 7	China, river basin Minjiang	Rain floods	3.5 thousand people
1950	India, Assam	Earthquake, dam failure	1–2 thousand people
1952, November 5	USSR, Severokurilsk	Tsunami	City destroyed, numerous casualties
1954	China, Tibet	Lake overflow Takri Tzola above Shigatse	0.5–1 thousand people Lama's residence damaged
1954	China, river basin Yangtze	Rain floods, rising water levels in the river. Yangtze at 30m	More than 40 thousand people.
1954, September 26	Japan	Water surge	2 thousand people
1955	India	Rain floods	1.7 thousand people 28 thousand villages washed away
1956, August 2	China	Typhoon Wanda, water surge	2 thousand people
1963, July 7	Kazakhstan, outskirts of Almaty	Mudflow, water breakthrough from the lake. Issyk	Numerous casualties and destruction
1964	Japan, Honshu Island	Earthquake, tsunami	108 people
1968, August 7-14	India, Gujarat	Rain floods	More than 2 thousand people.
1969, April-June	USSR, south of Western Siberia	Spring flood	About 300 settlements were flooded and inundated. Damage over $80 million.
1970, November 12	Bangladesh	Typhoon, surge of 8-meter water	200 thousand people
1971, November	India, river basin Ganges	Rain floods	From 500 thousand to 1.5 million people.
1972	Republic of Korea	Rain floods	638 people
1976	Philippines, Mindanao island	China earthquake, tsunami	More than 5 thousand people.
1978, September	India, Bengal state	Rain floods	1.3 thousand people, 15 million people. left homeless
1983	Thailand	Rain floods	10 thousand people
1993	South of Iran	Rain floods	0.5 thousand people Damage: $1 billion
1995, May 15 – August 15	China	Rain floods	1.5 thousand people Damage: $14.4 billion
1998, June 14-25	Eastern China	Rain floods	About 9 thousand people. One of the largest losses - 210 (?) billion dollars.
1999, October–November	Eastern India	Rain floods, water surge	9.8 thousand people Damage: $2.3 billion
2000, August–October	River pool Mekong	Rain floods	More than 0.1 thousand people. More than 6.5 million people were evacuated. Damage is about $0.8 billion.
2001	Philippines, southern China	Typhoon Utor	About 200 people. Damage over $3 billion.
2001, May	Russia, Yakutia, cities of Lensk, Yakutsk, Olekminsk	Spring flood, ice jams	About 10 people died. About 50 thousand people were affected. The city of Lensk and about 60 thousand of us were flooded. points. Damage over $200 million.
2002	Central China, Hunan Province	Rain floods	124 people 270 thousand people were evacuated. Damage: $2.2 billion
2003, September 12–15	Republic of Korea	Rain floods	127 people Damage: $2.9 billion
2004, December 26	Eastern coast of the Indian Ocean	Underwater earthquake with a magnitude of 9 to 9.3 on the Richter scale, a tsunami up to 30 m high	One of the largest natural disasters in human history. From 140 to 300 thousand people died. Damage over $20 billion.
2005, July–August	India, states of Maharashtra, Goa	Rain floods	More than 1 thousand people. Damage over $3.5 billion.
2007	China, river basin Yangtze	Rain floods	600 people More than 3 million people evacuated. Damage: $4.25 billion
2007	Yugo - west coast of Bangladesh	Typhoon Sidr. Water surge	3447 people Damage: $1.4 billion
2009	South India	Rain floods	303 people Damage: $4 billion
2009, August 17	Russia, Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP	Accident and flooding of the turbine room of a hydroelectric power station	Human casualties. Damage: $4.3 billion
2011, October	Thailand, Cambodia	Rain floods	About 500 people Damage: $2 billion
2013, August–September	Russia, China - river basin Amur	Rain floods with a rise in the Amur water level near Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur by 8-9 m	Damage 40 billion rubles. in the Russian part of the basin; $15 billion – for the Chinese part of the basin
Africa
365 BC e.	Ancient Egypt, Alexandria	Earthquake, tsunami	60 thousand people
547 n. e.	Egypt, lower part of the river basin Nile	Unusually long standing water at high levels	Death of crops and many people from hunger
1960	Morocco, Agadir resort	Earthquake, tsunami	12 thousand people
1969	Tunisia	Rain floods, water levels in rivers rose by 10 m	542 people 80% of the country is flooded.
1988, August 4–5	Sudan, Khartoum	Rain floods	More than 100 people Damage 200 million dollars.
1990	Tanzania	Rain floods	230 people, 4.6 million people evacuated.
1997	Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia	Rain floods	More than 2 thousand people.
2000	Central Africa	Rain floods	More than 4 thousand people.
2009	Central Africa	Rain floods	150 people Damage: $240 million
North and Central America
1533	Puerto Rico Island	Hurricane, surge of water	2 thousand people
1666	Guadeloupe Island	Hurricane, surge of water	More than 2 thousand people.
1692	Jamaica Island	Earthquake, tsunami	More than 3 thousand people.
1780, October 10-18	Caribbean Islands	Hurricane Great, surge of water. Rain floods	More than 20 thousand people.
1831	Barbados Island	Hurricane, surge of water	15 thousand people
1874	USA, river basin Mississippi	Spring flood	200-300 people
1881	Martinique Island	Hurricane, surge of water	700 people
1889	USA, Pennsylvania, Johnstown	Rain floods, dam failures	2.2-2.5 thousand people. City destruction
1890, January–April	USA, Baasein r. Mississippi, Louisiana	Spring floods, rain floods, destruction of dams. High water for 4 months	More than 100 people
1899, August 8	Puerto Rico Island	Hurricane San Chiraco. Water surge	3 thousand people Damage 30 million dollars
1900	USA, Texas, Galveston on the Gulf Coast	Hurricane, surge of water with a wave 6 m high	6 thousand people Damage 650 million dollars.
1903, June 14	USA, river basin Colombia	Rain floods, rising river water levels. Willow Creek	325 people Damage: $250 million
1907	Jamaica Island, Kingston	Tsunami	1.4 thousand people
1909	Northeast Mexico	Rain floods	1.5 thousand people
1913, January	USA, Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri river valleys	Spring flood, dam destruction	500 people Damage: $14 million
1926, October 20	Cuba, Havana	Hurricane, surge of water	650 people Damage 100 million dollars.
1927	USA, Kansas	Two months of rain, flash floods	41 people 340 thousand hectares of agricultural fields were destroyed. Damage: $1 billion
1928, March 13	USA, California	Destruction of a dam with a height of 62 m. A surge of water with a height of 36 m	420 people
1928, September 12–16	USA, Florida, lake coast. Okeechobee	Hurricane, surge of water from the lake	2.5 thousand people
1932, November 9	Cuba	Hurricane, surge of water	2.5 thousand people Destroyed Santa Cruz de Sur
1935, September 2	USA, Florida	Hurricane, surge of water	400 people
1935, September 2	Haiti	Hurricane Jeremy (Jeremy)	More than 2 thousand people.
1938	USA, east coast	Hurricane, surge of water	700 people, more than 1000 people missing
1951, July 21–23	USA, Mississippi and Missouri river valleys, Kansas City	Spring floods, rain floods, destruction of dams	Damage: $3.75 billion
1955, September 22	USA, Connecticut	Hurricane, surge of water	310 people Damage: $1 billion
1955	Honduras, Mexico	Hurricane Janet, surge	500 people
1959, October 29	Mexico	Earthquake, tsunami, mudflow	5 thousand people
1964, August 22–27	USA, Florida, Miami	Hurricane Cleo, surge	13 people Damage: $2 billion
1966, September 24–29	Haiti, Cuba	Hurricane Inessa, surge of water	More than 2.5 thousand people.
1969, August 16	South USA	Hurricane, surge of water	320 people Damage over $100 million.
1976, February 4	Guatemala	Earthquake, mudflows, damming of small rivers	22 thousand people
1979, August 31-September 8	Southeastern USA, Caribbean coast	Hurricane David, water surge	1350 people Damage: $2.3 billion
1985, October 27 – November 5	South Coast USA	Hurricane Juan	Over 60 people Damage: $2 billion
1986, July 18–22	Canada, Alberta, Edmonton	Flash flood on the North Saskatchewan and Pembina rivers	Major damage
1988, September 12–19	Caribbean coast	Hurricane Gilbert	350 people Damage 10 billion dollars
1993, summer	USA, river basin Mississippi	Rain floods	OK. 500 people Damage 15 billion dollars
1998, October 24 – November 5	Central America	Hurricane Mitch. Rain floods	11 thousand people
1999, September–October	USA, Northern states Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey	Hurricanes Floyd, Irene. Rain floods	Damage: $3 billion
2004, May 21 – June 1	Dominican Republic	Rain floods	3.3 thousand people
2004	Puerto Rico	Hurricane Jean. Rain floods	2826 people
2005	South USA	Hurricane Katrina. Rain floods, water surge	1036 people Flooding of New Orleans by 80%. Disruption of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Water pollution. Damage 60-100 billion dollars.
2008, June 5 – July 3	USA, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan	Rain floods	29 people Damage: $1.5 billion
2011, May	USA, river basin Mississippi	Spring floods, rain floods	More than 20 people Damage over $1.5 billion.
South America
1960, May 22	Chile	Underwater earthquake, tsunami, waves 7 m high at a speed of 800 km/h	500 people
1962, January 10	Peru, Rarajirca village	Avalanche dammed local river. Break of temporary dam	More than 4 thousand people.
1966, January 11–13	Brazil, Rio de Janeiro	Heavy rains, landslides, mudflows	239 people
1970, March 31	Peru	An underwater earthquake measuring 7.75 on the Richter scale, causing avalanches and mudflows, and the destruction of dams	66794 people 800 thousand people left homeless
1974, April–May	Peru, river valley Montaro	Heavy downpours, mudflows that blocked the river and then broke through a temporary dam	2 thousand people
1982, September 27	Colombia, near Medellin	Mudflows	500 people
1998, January–February	Ecuador, Peru	Rain floods	200 people More than 100 thousand people. evacuated. Damage: $771 million
1998, April 14 – May 7	Uruguay, northern Argentina, Paraguay	Rain floods	68 people More than 700 thousand people were evacuated. Damage: $2.5 billion
1999	Venezuela, cities of Caracas, La Guaira	Rain floods, mudflows	20 thousand people 400 thousand people were evacuated. Damage: $2 billion
2001	Argentina, Uruguay	Rain floods	2 people died. 1.2 million people evacuated. Damage of 1.5 billion dollars in Argentina alone
2003, April 28 – May 10	Central Argentina	Rain floods	91 people Damage: $1.5 billion
2005, January – February	Guyana, Georgetown and its surroundings	Rain floods	31 people 373 thousand people were evacuated. Damage 500 million dollars.
2008, November 22 – December 3	Brazil, state of Santa Catarina	Rain floods	117 people Damage from idle time and damage to ships in ports alone exceeds $400 million.
Australia and Oceania
1916, December 27	Australia, Clermont, river basin Sandy Creek	Rain floods	63 people
1929, April	Northeast Tasmania	Rain floods	22 people
1934, November–December	Australia, Melbourne and its surroundings	Rain floods	36 people
1946, April 1	Oceania, Hawaiian Islands	Tsunami	159 people
1953	New Zealand	Rapid melting of snow on the slopes of Ruapehu volcano, mudflow	154 people
1972	Polynesia, Pitcairn Island	Tsunami with wave height of 15-20 m	No information
1999, February 6–12	Australia, Queensland	Rain floods	7 people Damage 300 million dollars.
2000, November	Australia, New South Wales, Queensland	Rain floods	Flooding of an area larger than Great Britain. Damage from 265 to 500 million dollars.
2006, March 20 – April 17	Northern Australia	Cyclone Airra. Rain floods with rising water levels in the river. Leichhardt on 24 m	Damage: $720 million
2007, June 8	Australia, New South Wales	Cyclone, rain floods	9 people Damage: $840 million
2007, November 12–26	Papua New Guinea	Cyclone Guba. Rain floods	75 people Damage: $180 million
2008, January 14 – February 1	Australia, Queensland	Rain floods	Damage 150 million dollars.