List of floods


A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrology and are of significant concern in agriculture, civil engineering and public health.

List of floods

20th century BCE

1910s

  • In January 1910, large areas of Paris were flooded when the river burst its banks.
  • In June 1910 heavy rains caused extreme flooding throughout central Europe killing more than 1200 people.
  • The Great Flood of 1913, which included the Great Dayton Flood, killed 650 people and destroyed 20,000 homes in the United States. It also damaged historic photographic plates belonging to Wilbur and Orville Wright. It ended canal transportation in Ohio.
  • The 1916 Clermont, Queensland flood was the worst flood in Clermont history.
  • The Hatfield Flood of San Diego, United States, of 1916 destroyed the Lower Otay Dam, damaged Sweetwater Dam, and caused 22 deaths and $4.5 million in damages.

    1920s

  • In 1920, The Great Flood of Tokyo, when 37 houses were swept away, 2200 were partially destroyed, and nearly 400,000 were damaged.
  • The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was one of the most destructive floods in United States history and the impetus for many later Flood Control Acts.
  • The Great Vermont Flood of 1927 which destroyed over 1200 bridges in Vermont, and one of the biggest floods in its history.
  • The 1929 New Zealand cyclone caused the deepest flood ever to hit the city of Dunedin.

    1930s

  • The 1931 [Yellow River flood] caused between 800,000 and 4,000,000 deaths in China, one of a series of disastrous floods on the Yellow River. It was one of the worst floods in history.
  • The Ohio River flood of 1937 occurred in late January and February 1937, causing damage along the Ohio River and several smaller tributaries from Pittsburgh, Illinois, to Cairo, Illinois. This flood left close to one million people homeless, 385 dead, and $50,000,000 worth of damage.
  • The Los Angeles flood of 1938 occurred from late February to early March 1938, causing the Los Angeles River and the Santa Ana River to overflow, causing $40,000,000 worth of damage and causing 115 lives to be lost.
  • The 1938 Hanshin flood occurred in July 1938 in Kobe area in Japan, causing 925 lost lives as exceptionally heavy seasonal raining caused landslides at Rokko mountains.

    1940s

  • The 1941 flood in Porto Alegre was the second biggest flood ever recorded in the city of Porto Alegre, surpassed only by the 2024 flood. For 22 days, in the months of April and May 1941
  • 1948 Columbia River flood
  • The 1948 Berwickshire flood occurred on 12 August, when extremely heavy rain for the preceding six days caused the rivers Tweed, Blackadder, Whiteadder, Till, Northumberland|Till] and Eye Water in southern Scotland to rise more than 10 feet and wash away 20 bridges. Railway service was interrupted for months.

    1950s

  • The Lynmouth flood of 1952 killed 34 people, more than any other British flood up to then, it was also very destructive and destroyed over 80 buildings in the town of Lynmouth, Devon, United Kingdom.
  • The North Sea Flood of 1953 caused over 2,000 deaths in the Dutch province of Zeeland and the about 50 in the United Kingdom and led to the construction of the Delta Works in the Netherlands and the Thames Barrier in London.
  • 1953 North [Kyushu Flood] killed at least 890 and the killed and missing amounted to 1,001 in the northern Kyushu area of Japan.
  • On 15 October 1954, Hurricane Hazel struck Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The resulting rainfall flooded the city, killing 81 people, destroying 20 bridges, and leaving over 2000 people homeless.
  • The Hunter Valley floods of 1955 in New South Wales destroyed over 100 homes and caused 45,000 to be evacuated.
  • A levee failure on Christmas Eve, 1955, on the west bank of the Feather River, a large tributary of the Sacramento River in Northern California, flooded 90 percent of Yuba City, drowned 38, sent more than 20,000 in search of shelter, and resulted in some 600 helicopter rooftop rescues.
  • The 1956 Murray River flood is considered the biggest flood in the history of Australia's Murray River affecting towns in three Australian states.
  • 1957 Isahaya flood, due heavy torrential massive rain, maximum 1,108 mm in single day on July 24, 1957, following debris flow hit in Honmyō River and flash flood hit in Isahaya, Kyushu Island, Japan. 586 persons were perished in Isahaya, and overall death toll was 992, with 3,860 persons were hurt, according to Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency official confirmed report.
  • In 1957, the storm surge from Hurricane Audrey flooded southwest Louisiana, killing about 400 people.
  • In 1957, the Valencia flood|Great flood of Valencia] in Spain.
  • In 1959, the Río Negro flooded the central region of Uruguay, with disastrous consequences.

    1960s

  • In 1960, flooding from a deadly tsunami caused by the Great Chilean earthquake affected the towns of Riñihue, Riñihuazo, Los Lagos, Antilhue, Pishuinco, and Valdivia.
  • The North Sea flood of 1962 killed almost 330 people along the coasts of southeastern England, Germany, and southern Denmark. 318 of the deaths occurred in Hamburg, Germany, and many millions of pounds' worth of damage was done.
  • The Vallés floods on September 25, 1962, affected several towns and cities of Catalonia and resulted in 617 deaths and extensive material damage.
  • On 1964 [Zagreb flood|25 October 1964], high water due to heavy rains upstream caused the River Sava to overflow its embankments in Zagreb, Croatia, killing 17 people, flooding much of the city, and causing devastating material damage.
  • An earthquake in 1965 triggered the failure of six dams, two of which released millions of tonnes of water and debris that wiped away the town of El Cobre in the Valparaiso Region of Chile.
  • In 1965, Hurricane Betsy flooded large areas of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, for up to 10 days, drowning around 40 people.
  • In 1966, the The Flood of the River [Arno in Florence|flood of the Arno River] killed dozens of people and damaged or destroyed millions of masterpieces of art and rare books in Florence, Italy.
  • 1967 Uetsu flood, a 200 to 700 mm of precipiotation observed in Murakami, Shibata and Oguni area, Niigata and Yamagata Prefecture, for four days, affective an autumn rain front line from Noto Peninsula to Iwaki, for these period on Honshu, Japan, where damaged multiple dams and river embankment collapse, and flood swept and debris flow on these area, total 146 persons were human fatalities, according to Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency official confirmed report,

    1970s

  • On the night of 9 June 1972 the people of Rapid City, South Dakota in the United States were struck by a deadly flood that lasted two days. It took 238 lives and caused millions of dollars in damage.
  • On Luzon island in the Philippines, the "Great Luzon Flood" of 1972 was triggered by a series of storms during the 1972 Pacific typhoon season, namely Susan, Rita (Gloring), Tropical Depression Huaning, Tropical Storm Winnie, and Tropical Depression Konsing. More than thirty days of constant rain over central Luzon left 565 dead, directly affected 5.5 million people, and left 2 Billion Philippine Pesos in damage.
  • In 1974, the dying cyclone Wanda triggered major flooding in Brisbane, Australia killing 6 people and leaving hundreds homeless.
  • On 2 July 1975, many areas of Romanian Cuverture Charpatinas, were struck by major flooding.
  • In August 1975, the Banqiao Dam in China breaks apart under excess rainfall and damage from Typhoon Nina, drowning about 26,000 and caused the lives of another 140,000 in resulting epidemics.
  • On July 31, 1976, a nearly stationary thunderstorm caused a major flash flood in the infamous Big Thompson River Canyon, claiming 139 lives. This occurred on the eve of Colorado's centennial.

    1980s

  • During the 1980s, the Great Salt Lake reached record high water levels due to a large amount of rain and its lack of an outlet. Places such as Saltair were inundated.
  • The South African town of Laingsburg was basically destroyed on 25 January 1981, when 104 of its 900 inhabitants died during a flood that swept through the town and left only about 25 houses standing
  • In August 1982, Ulaanbaatar experienced a major flood that swept most of the houses for a few hours due to heavy rain, leaving 187 citizens dying.
  • In 1982, the river Jucar in Spain breaks the Tous Reservoir, flooding the surrounding land in a deluge of 16,000 m3/s of water, and killing 30 people.
  • The 1983 Spanish floods in August led to the deaths of 34 people in northern Spain.
  • In the winter of 1983, the Pacific Northwest of the United States saw one of the worst floods on record for that region, and some states recorded their wettest winter ever. Damage estimates are as high as $1.1 billion.
  • Bangladesh floods

    1990–2000

  • January 1992 saw severe floods in South America, most notably Brazil.
  • In Alaska, United States, from May to September 1992 it was unusually wet, causing the 100 year flood. Snow melt only made the floods worse.
  • The Great Flood of 1993 was one of the most destructive floods in United States history.
  • March 1993 the "No Name" storm, silently brought major flooding to Citrus County, Florida.
  • The summer of 1993 was unusually wet for the United States, causing flooding in the southwest.
  • The 1993 [India floods] killed more than a thousand people in Northern India, and more than 1800 people in Nepal, with fewer casualties in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
  • 1994 South Georgina floods
  • On 8 May 1995, severe floods caused extensive damage in Louisiana, United States.
  • 1994-August, Massive Flood in Surat and burst of pneumonic plague
  • 1996 [Pacific Northwest floods]
  • A dying typhoon hit Kyushu, Japan, in September 1996, causing severe floods in that region.
  • July 1996 saw severe floods in Central Honshū, Japan.
  • In August 1996, 86 people died due to a flood in Las Nieves camping, in Biescas, Spain.
  • 1997 Central European flood, the worst flood in Polish history hits the country in July 1997, killing 65 and causing extensive damage to Wrocław and Opole.
  • The Red River Flood of 1997 occurred in April and May 1997 along the Red River of the North in North Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba. It was the most severe flooding of the river since 1826, with floodwaters peaking at 54 feet in Grand Forks, and reaching as far as 3 miles from the river in Southern Manitoba.
  • Bangladesh was flooded in 1998, with millions of people affected and hundreds killed.
  • The 1999 [Pentecost flood] was a 100-year flood around the Pentecost season in 1999 that mostly affected Bavaria, Vorarlberg and Tirol. It was caused by heavy rainfall coinciding with the regular Alpine meltwater. These were caused because of the low-lying area and they are replacing concrete with soil which affects the flow of water and can cause flash flooding.
  • The 2000 Mozambique flood, caused by heavy rains followed by a cyclone, covered much of the country for three weeks, killing thousands, leaving the country devastated for years afterwards.

    21st century

2000s

2001
2011

Africa

East Asia

China
Thailand
Greece

Canada

Australia

Brazil

21st century