Severe flooding from torrential rains in northeastern Brazil has killed 79 people. This is reminiscent of a series of the deadliest flood disasters in history.
Several civilizations, including the ancient Egyptian civilization, considered flooding as a blessing. Floods are also considered one of the most powerful forces of nature.
On the other hand, floods are recorded to wreak havoc throughout human history. Especially residents in flood-prone areas, they have witnessed countless loss of life and destruction of infrastructure and property time and time again. Here is a countdown of the 10 deadliest floods in the world, which claimed many lives, quoted from Value Walk, Tuesday (31/5/2022).
10. North Sea Flood, Netherlands (1212)
The Netherlands is one of the victims of some of the biggest floods in the world. The country is formed by the mouth of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse Rivers. The North Sea Flood began in June 1212 and ended more than six months later.
This disaster is estimated to have claimed about 60 thousand lives. Hundreds of thousands of people had to leave their homes. Floods also cause irreparable damage to buildings and infrastructure. The Netherlands took more than two years to recover from the North Sea floods.
9. Flood St. Lucia, Netherlands (1287)
St. Flood Lucia on December 12, 1287 killed 50 thousand to 80 thousand people in the Netherlands and North Germany. Before the great flood, there was almost no water in any of the lakes in the Netherlands.
Floods are triggered by a combination of high tides, windstorms and low pressure. The flood of St Lucia changed the history of the Netherlands as it destroyed all the villages between the sea and the village of Amsterdam. By the time the floods receded, the inland village of Amsterdam had become a coastal city. These events contributed to the development of Amsterdam into the great city as we know it today.
8. Jiangsu-Anhui Flood/Yangtze River Flood, China (1911)
The Yangtze is the third longest river on Earth, and the longest flowing entirely within a single country. This 6,304 km long river is the main source of transportation and irrigation in China.
The Jiangsu-Anhui Flood of 1911 occurred when the Yangtze and Huai rivers began to flood at the same time. This disaster claimed up to 100,000 lives, left about 375,000 people homeless, and caused severe property losses.
7. Red River Delta Flood, North Vietnam (1971)
When it occurred in 1971, the Red River Delta flood did not receive the international attention it deserved because it was overshadowed by the Vietnam War. Even though this flood claimed more than 100 thousand lives, mostly in Hanoi City. It took Vietnam several years to recover from the disaster, especially as the government and people of the then war-torn country were already facing severe hardships.
6. Flood St. Felix, Netherlands (1530)
The St. Felix flood wiped out more than a dozen villages and several towns. An estimated 120,000 people died and buildings worth more than 100 million Euros were destroyed. Because of this flood, November 5, 1530 was known as Evil Saturday (because the flood occurred on Saturday) in Dutch history. It is also called the deadliest flood in European history.
5. Yangtze river flood, China (1935)
The Yangtze River flood in 1935 killed more than 145,000 people and left millions homeless. In addition, floods brought great famine and deadly diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, and dermatitis along river valleys.
The Yangtze River witnesses seasonal flooding quite often, but most of the time it is not fatal. The flood of 1931, is still fresh in people's minds when the flood of 1935 destroyed everything they had built back up since the flood of 1931.
4. Typhoon Nina/Banqiao Dam Break, China (1975)
The Banqiao Dam on the Ru River burst on August 8, 1975 due to Typhoon Nina. The initial flood instantly killed more than 86,000 people. Another 145,000 people died of hunger and disease. Typhoon Nina sheds more than a year of rain in just 24 hours at a time. This unusual activity failed to predict weather researchers. The collapse of the Banqiao dam caused the failure of many other smaller dams nearby.
3. Yellow River Flood, China (1938)
The Yellow River flood in 1938 killed about 800,000 people in China. Surprisingly, the flood was deliberately created by the Chinese Nationalist Government during the second Sino-Japanese war.
The Japanese troops were advancing and the Chinese government needed to stop them. So, they destroyed the embankments on the Yellow River, allowing the water to flow freely through the different provinces. Unfortunately for China, Japanese troops were far from flooded. This means that almost all of the flood victims are Chinese citizens. The Chinese government had denied any involvement in this flood event until Japan accepted defeat in 1945.
2. Yellow River Flood, China (1887)
While the 1938 flood was deliberately instigated by the Chinese government, beyond that, the Yellow River was flooded with greater proportions on September 28, 1887.
It is estimated that this flood has killed between 900 thousand to 2 million people. About 2 million people were left homeless, farmland and several small towns were completely destroyed. No wonder the Yellow River is nicknamed "China's Sorrow".
1. The Chinese Flood of 1931, China
So far, the 1931 Chinese Flood was the deadliest flood in the known history of mankind. Prior to the floods, China experienced a two-year drought followed by heavy snowstorms, even heavier rains and high typhoon activity.
In July 1931, China's three largest rivers, the Yangtze, Yellow River, and Huai, flowed above their maximum limit. It is estimated that this disaster killed 1-4 million people, mostly due to hunger and disease.
These floods destroyed crops and polluted water brought infectious diseases such as dysentery and typhoid en masse. After the 1931 flood, the Chinese government realized the importance of an effective disaster management system. The country then established an efficient disaster management system to deal with such natural disasters.