Flood-Prone Populations Up Nearly 25% Worldwide Since 2000: Study

A team of US-based researchers examined satellite data from twice-daily imaging of more than 900 individual flood events in 169 countries since 2000.

The number of people exposed to floods worldwide has surged almost a quarter over the last two decades, according to satellite-based data that shows an additional 86 million now live within flood-prone regions. Flooding is by far the most common of extreme weather events made more frequent and potent by rainfall patterns supercharged by climate change. Deadly inundations, such as recently in India, China, Germany and Belgium, inflict billions worth of damage, often disproportionally affecting poorer sectors of society. Most flood maps rely on modelling based on ground-level observations such as rainfall and elevation, but they can often entirely miss ewgions that are historically not flood-prone.