Heavy hailstorms, river spills and sudden snowmelt sometimes lead to catastrophic consequences - the deaths of hundreds or even thousands of people, cause significant material damage and destroy infrastructure. It is not the first time that the largest floods in the world have indicated to a person who actually runs the earth.
Flood in China in 1931
One of the largest floods in the world occurred in China at the end of the first third of the twentieth century. From 1928 to 1930, the country suffered from a very severe drought, but in the winter of 1930 there were constant snowstorms, and in the spring - incessant heavy rainfalls and sudden warming, due to which the Huaihe and Yangtze rivers spilled, the banks eroded, and the water began to wash away nearby settlements . In the Yangtze River, the water level in just one summer month rose by seventy centimeters.
The river spilled and reached the then capital of China - the city of Nanjing. Many drowned or died from waterborne infections (typhoid, cholera, and others). Among the desperate locals, cases of killing children and cannibalism during this difficult time are known. According to local sources, about 145 thousand people died, and Western sources claimed that among the dead there were from 3.7 to 4 million people.
Natural Disaster in Yellow River
Another major flood in the world also happened in China, only a few decades earlier. In 1887, there was incessant rain in the Yellow River province for many days, as a result, water levels rose and dams broke through. Water soon reached the city of Zhengzhou, located in this province, and then spread throughout northern China, that is, an area of approximately 1300 km 2 . About two million people as a result of one of the worst floods in the world were left without a roof over their heads, nine hundred thousand local residents died.
Flood of St. Felix in 1630
On the day of St. Felix de Valois, one of the founders of the Trinitarian order, most of Flanders, the historical region of the Netherlands and the province of Zealand, were washed away by water. It is estimated that more than one hundred thousand inhabitants became victims of the raging elements. The day when a natural disaster happened, later they began to call it evil Saturday in this area.
Flood of St. Mary Magdalene
Floods in the world happen everywhere. The largest in Central Europe (of the documented ones) happened on the day of memory of Mary Magdalene in the summer of 1342. This memorable date is celebrated by the Lutheran and Catholic Church on July twenty-second. On the day of the disaster, the Danube, Verra, Unstrut, Moselle, Rhine, Main, Elba, Vltava and Mosel flooded the surroundings. Many cities were severely damaged. Wurzburg, Mainz, Frankfurt am Main, Vienna, Cologne and others were affected.
After a long, dry summer, heavy rains followed for several consecutive days, approximately half of the annual rainfall fell. Dry soil did not absorb so much water. Many houses were destroyed, thousands of people died. The total number of victims of one of the worst floods in the world is unknown, but it is estimated that only six thousand local residents drowned in the coastal areas of the Danube alone.
The next summer, cold and humid, the population was left without a crop and was severely affected by hunger. The plague epidemic was added to troubles, which reached its peak in 1348-1350, taking the lives of at least a third of the population of central Europe. The black death affected locals in Asia, North Africa, Europe and the island of Greenland.
The tragedy in Thailand in 2011-2012.
Natural disaster was caused by the strongest rains over the past half century in the central, northern and northeastern provinces of the country. From there, through the lowlands, water went to Bangkok. A total of sixty-five provinces out of seventy-six suffered, killing more than thirteen thousand people. The rain was caused by the tropical Nok-Ten storm that hit Thailand on July 5, 2011.
The flood lasted quite a while. As a result, several industrial zones were flooded, where the factories of automobile corporations, factories for the production of hard drives, fifteen thousand other enterprises and eight hundred thousand residential buildings, one and a half million hectares of agricultural land and 12.5% of rice fields in Thailand were located, the second largest airport in Thailand. country. Material damage was estimated at a minimum of 24.3 billion US dollars (a maximum of 43 billion dollars).
Flood in Australia 2010-2011
One of the last floods in the world (of the largest) occurred in the Australian state of Queensland. During the Christmas holidays, heavy rains took place as a result of the tropical cyclone Tasha. As a result , the water level in the rivers exceeded the maximum values. In early January 2010, a natural disaster affected the state capital and the Lockyer Valley, washing everything in its path. Only twenty-three people became victims of the disaster, but this is only because the authorities managed to evacuate about two hundred thousand local residents. Twenty cities were flooded, the damage is estimated at billions of dollars.
The Irrawaddy River Spill in Myanmar
In May 2008, the strongest tropical cyclone “Nargis” hit the country, which led to the spill of a large water artery - the speech of Irrawaddy. Streams of water washed away entire cities. Ninety thousand people are killed as a result of the natural disaster, fifty-six thousand are missing, and experts estimated the damage at ten billion US dollars.
The ominous flood in Pakistan in the summer of 2010
One of the worst floods in the world happened in 2010 in Pakistan. The victims of the raging elements were 2 thousand people, and the damage amounted to 10 billion dollars. The flood caused the mass exodus of spiders. They escaped from the water in the trees, enveloping the crowns with a thick layer of cobwebs. Therefore, coastal landscapes have acquired a truly ominous appearance.
Flooding in the Czech Republic in 2002
Another major flood in the world in 2002 hit Europe. The Czech Republic suffered the most. The Vltava River rose seven meters, flooded houses and the metro, almost washed off the Charles Bridge - one of the main attractions. The zoo was badly damaged by the flood. As a result, more than 100 animals died. The damage amounted to 4 billion US dollars.
Natural disaster in the Philippines in 2009
More than 370 thousand people were forced to leave their homes due to the threat caused by the flood. More than 600 thousand local residents suffered from the consequences of the rampant disaster, about 300 people died. A state of emergency was declared in the capital and other cities, one of the airports stopped working, flights were canceled or rescheduled, and multi-kilometer traffic jams literally paralyzed the city.
The tropical typhoon Ketsana, which passed a few days after the flood, also affected nearby countries. On Tuesday, rains fell on the coast of Vietnam and took the lives of 23 people. In the Philippines, more than 340 mm of precipitation fell in six hours. These are the most severe rains in the country since the middle of the last century.
Each year, an island nation suffers from about twenty typhoons and tropical storms, but this disaster has become one of the largest floods in the world in the 21st century. The government even appealed to the international community for help in eliminating the consequences of the rampant disaster.
The worst floods in Russia
In the regions of the Russian Federation, heavy rains from time to time take place, which lead to a rise in the water level in rivers and create the likelihood of flooding of nearby settlements. So, the biggest floods in the world happened on the territory of Russia. In 2017, for example, in Stavropol, due to the threat of overflow of the Otkaznensky reservoir, more than 40 thousand people were evacuated. According to the Ministry of Emergencies, 5 thousand people died from the disaster, about a thousand of them are children.
Another major flood in the world (the Red Cross sent funds to help, humanitarian aid came from Azerbaijan and Belarus) happened in Krymsk on July 6-7, 2012. In the entire history of the region, this natural disaster has become the most devastating. The main blow fell on Krymsk, but Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, the villages of Neberdzhaevskaya, Nizhnebakanskaya, Divnomorskoe, Kabardinka were badly damaged.
53 thousand people were recognized as victims, almost 30 thousand of them lost property, one hundred fifty-six people died. More than seven thousand private houses and 185 multi-apartment buildings, nine healthcare facilities, fifteen boiler houses, three cultural facilities, eighteen educational institutions were destroyed, gas, water and energy supply systems, rail and road traffic were disrupted.
In May 2001, Lensk was seriously affected by the raging elements. The city was almost completely washed away by water: in the very first days of the flood, 98% of the territory of the settlement turned out to be under water. Eight local residents were killed, and more than five thousand houses were flooded. Lensk has already become a victim of the elements earlier. In 1998, for example, due to ice congestion on the Lena River, severe flooding began. Water in the river rose eleven meters - this is a critical level. Almost 100 thousand people suffered, fifteen became victims of the flood.
In the summer of 2002, nine southern regions of the Russian Federation suffered from severe flooding. Under water were 377 settlements. The most difficult situation is in Mineralnye Vody, where the water level in the river rose five to six meters above the critical level. The damage from the impact of the elements amounted to 16 billion rubles, 300 thousand people suffered, 114 local residents became victims.