List of deadliest floods


This is a list of the deadliest floods worldwide, with a minimum of 60 deaths.

List

DeathsEventLocationYear
1,000,000–2,000,0001887 Yellow River floodChina1887
422,000–2,000,0001931 China floodsChina1931
470,000–500,0001938 Yellow River floodChina1938
300,000–500,0001970 Bhola cycloneEast Pakistan 1970
145,0001935 Yangtze floodChina1935
100,000+St. Felix's floodNetherlands1530
up to 100,000The flood of 1099Netherlands, England1099
50,000–80,000St. Lucia's flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1287
0 or 36,000 or 60,000North sea flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1212
40,0001949 Eastern Guatemalan floodsGuatemala1949
25,000+First St. Marcellus's flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1219
33,0001954 Yangtze floodsChina1954
27,000–1,500,0001974 Bangladesh flood due to monsoon rainBangladesh1974
26,000–240,0001975 Banqiao Dam failure and floodsChina1975
25,000–40,000St. Marcellus's flood, storm tideHoly Roman Empire, Denmark1362
20,000–25,000All Saints' Flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1570
20,0001939 Tianjin floodChina1939
15,0001705 Po Valley floodPo Valley, Italy1705
14,000Christmas flood, storm surgeNetherlands, Germany, Denmark1717
11,498+Storm DanielLibya, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt2023
10,000–100,000St. Elizabeth's flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1421
10,000–30,0001999 Vargas mudslideVenezuela1999
9,887–30,0001999 Odisha cyclone, storm surgeIndia, Myanmar, Bangladesh1999
8,000–15,000Burchardi floodGermany, Denmark1634
7,0001557 Palermo floodSicily1557
6,5112020 South Asian floodsAfghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka2020
6,200Sichuan, Hubei, Anhui floodChina1980
6,0542013 North India floodsIndia2013
6,000-12,0001900 Galveston hurricaneUnited States1900
5,154 1963 Great Hai River floodHai River, China1963
5,000–10,000Rajasthan floodIndia1943
5,000Lake Palcacocha in the Cojup valley, Cordillera Blanca mountain range, landslide by massive avalanchePeru1941
4,8921968 Rajasthan, Gujarat monsoon rainIndia1968
4,8001951 Manchuria floodChina1951
4,0001610 Tanaro River floodItaly1610
3,8381998 Eastern India, 1998 Bangladesh floodIndia, Bangladesh1998
3,8141989 Sichuan floodChina1989
3,8001978 Northern India monsoon rainIndia1978
3,6561998 Yangtze river floodChina1998
3,5001948 Fuzhou floodChina1948
3,189+2010 China floods, landslidesChina, North Korea2010
3,0831993 South Asian monsoon floodsNepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan1993
3,0762004 Eastern India, Bangladesh monsoon rainIndia, Bangladesh2004
3,0001530 Tiber River floodItaly1530
3,0001598 Tiber River floodItaly1598
3,0001992 Afghanistan flood, mainly, Gulbahar, Kalotak, Shutul, Parwan, flash flood, mudslideAfghanistan1992
2,9101950 Pakistan floodPakistan1950
2,828+2011 Southeast Asian floodsPhilippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia2011
2,7751996 China flood, torrential floods, mud-rock flowsChina1996
2,5661953 Japan floods, massive rain, flood, mudslidesmainly Kitakyushu, Kumamoto, Wakayama, and Kizugawa, Japan1953
2,400North Sea flood, storm surgeNetherlands838
2,3791988 Bangladesh monsoon rainBangladesh1988
2,209Johnstown FloodUnited States 1889
2,142North Sea flood of 1953 storm surgeNetherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium1953
2,0751981 Sichuan, Shanxi floodChina1981
2,0551987 Bangladesh monsoon rainBangladesh1987
several thousandsNorth Sea flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1014
several thousandsSt. Juliana flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1164
several thousandsSt. Agatha flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1288
several thousandsSt. Clemens flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1334
several thousandsSt. Mary Magdalene's floodCentral Europe1342
several thousandsAll Saints flood, storm surgeHoly Roman Empire1532
several thousandsNorth Sea flood, storm surgeNetherlands1703
2,000–10,000Great Iran FloodIran1954
2,000–5,0001979 Machchhu dam failureIndia 1979
2,000–3,000Mostaganem and Oran floodAlgeria1927
2,000+Bristol Channel floodsEngland and Wales; possible tsunami1607
2,000+May 2004 Caribbean floodsHaiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands2004
1,985Pakistan floods, monsoon floodingPakistan2010
1,921Vajont Dam landslide and floodItaly1963
1,8341992 Pakistan, Northern India monsoon rainPakistan, India1992
1,7392022 Pakistan floodsPakistan2022
1,7231991 China flood, mainly, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, torrential floods, mud-rock flowsChina1991
1,7001955 Northern India floodIndia1955
1,624Fujian, Anhui, Zhejiang floodChina2005
1,605–3,363spring floodingHaiti, Dominican Republic2004
1,558St. Martin flood, storm surgeNetherlands1686
1,5322002 China flood, torrential floods, mud-rock flowsChina2002
1,503Mumbai and the surrounding state Maharashtra, Karnataka, monsoon rain in 2005India2005
1,4371995 China flood, mainly, Hunan, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Sichuan, Fujian, torrential rain, devastating floods, mud-rock flowsChina1995
1,392Hurricane Katrina, storm surge and levee failureUnited States2005
1,3482007 China flood, mountain torrents, mud-rock flowsChina2007
1,268Floods caused by Tropical Storm WashiPhilippines2011
1,0292004 China flood, mountain torrents, mud-rock flows, landslideChina2004
1,000–8,0002016 Indian floods by monsoon rainIndia2016
1,0001961 Bihar floodIndia1961
9921957 Isahaya flood, massive rain and mudslideJapan1957
9692025 Sumatra floods and landslidesIndonesia2025
941Inuyama Iruka pond dam failureJapan1868
9331938 Hanshin flood, mainly Tokyo, Kobe, massive rain and landslideJapan1938
915Barcelona, flash floodSpain1962
903January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslidesBrazil2011
8481977 Karachi floodPakistan1977
8442006 North Korean floodsNorth Korea2006
827Algiers, Bab El Oued, devastating flood, mudslideAlgeria2001
800North Sea flood, storm surgeNetherlands1825
8002000 Mozambique floodMozambique2000
7052006 Ethiopia flood, mainly Omo River Delta, Dire Dawa, Tena, and Gode, flash floods, heavy rainEthiopia2006
677August 8 2009 flood due to Typhoon Morakot; an entire village of Shiaolin was buried in the southern county of KaohsiungTaiwan2009
6721972 Seoul floodSouth Korea1972
6531972 Luzon floodPhilippines1972
650Great Flood of 1913United States1913
6102007 North Korean floodsNorth Korea2007
5951999 Vietnamese floodsVietnam1999
594Hanoi and Red River Delta floodNorth Vietnam1971
5401969 Tunisia floodingTunisia1969
532Cuzco, Huallaga, torrential rain, flooding, landslidePeru1982
5171967 Massive rain of Japan, mainly, Kobe, Kure, Agano River, massive rain and landslideJapan1967
506KwaZulu-NatalSouth Africa1987
500Malawi, flash flood and landslideMalawi1991
5002018 East Africa floodsKenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Somalia2018
4832018 Kerala floodsIndia2018
464Lisbon flash floodPortugal1967
449+2016 China floodsChina2016
445Western Japan, massive rains and landslidesJapan1972
4371967 Brazil flood, mainly Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, flood and landslideBrazil1967
431St. Francis Dam failureUnited States 1928
4312015 Tamil Nadu floods Chennai, Cuddalore and Andhra Pradesh named 2015 South Indian floodsIndia2015
4292002 Nepal flood, mainly occurred at Makwanpur, monsoon rain, flood, landslideNepal2002
425October 1999 Mexico floods, mainly occurred at Tabasco, Puebla, Chiapas, flood and mudslide as a result from Tropical Depression ElevenMexico1999
421Malpasset Dam failureFrance1959
420St. Aaron's FloodAmsterdam1420
415+2024 Nigeria floodsNigeria2024
4081969 South Korea flood, mainly, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Gangwon-do, torrential rain, landslideSouth Korea1969
4071993 Iran flood, mainly occurred at Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, flash flood and landslideIran1993
4051998 South Korea flood, heavy massive rain, landslideSouth Korea1998
4001955 Lebanon Tripoli floodLebanon1955
386Thailand, Malaysia, mainly Nakhon, Songkhla, and Kelantan, torrential rainThailand, Malaysia1988
385+Wayanad, Kerala, IndiaChooral Mala Landslide2024
385Ohio River flood of 1937United States 1937
3731966 Rio de Janeiro flood, flood and landslideBrazil1966
364Piura, Tumbes, torrential rain, flooding, landslidePeru1983
360+Great Dayton FloodUnited States1913
3601958 Buenos Aires floodArgentina1958
356+1923 Gleno Dam failureItaly1923
3532007 African Nations floodmainly Sudan, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, and other African countries2007
3471996 Yemen floodYemen1996
3451987 South Korea flood, mainly, Chungchongnam-do, Jeollanam-do, Kangwon, torrential rain, landslideSouth Korea1987
3422006 East African FloodKenya, Ethiopia, Somalia2006
315North Sea flood of 1962 storm tideGermany1962
3132003 Sumatra flood, mainly Jambi, Batanghari, Tondano, torrential rain, flash flood, landslideIndonesia2003
3022021 Henan floodsChina2021
300+2024 Nepal floodsNepal2024
3001584 Tanaro River floodItaly1584
3001878 flood in MiskolcMiskolc, Hungary1878
2991982 Nagasaki floodJapan1982
290Rio de Janeiro and Fluminense floodBrazil1988
2721973 Granada, Almeria, Murcia floodSpain1973
270Great Sheffield flood dam disasterUnited Kingdom1864
268Val di Stava dam disasterItaly1985
2591966 Maian floodJordan1966
2551998 Tajikistan floodTajikistan1998
2512021 Maharashtra floodsIndia2021
250La Josefina landslide dam failureEcuador1993
246+April 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslidesRio de Janeiro, Brazil2010
246Great Mississippi Flood of 1927United States 1927
2432021 European floodsAustria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Romania, Czech Republic, Croatia2021
2402017 Gujarat floodGujarat and Rajasthan, India2017
2382024 Spanish floodsProvince of Valencia, Spain2024
238Black Hills floodUnited States1972
235–2442009 Philippine FloodsPhilippines2009
2332020 Central Vietnam floodsVietnam, Cambodia, Laos2020
230Marrakesh flash floodMorocco1995
2282007 Balochistan flood by Cyclone YemyinPakistan2007
2252018 Japan floodsJapan2018
2232012 North Korean floodsNorth Korea2012
203+2017 China floodsChina2017
200–6001824 St. Petersburg floodRussia1824
200–600Chungar landslide, flood, avalanchePeru1971
200+2008 South China floodsSouth China2008
200Pamir Mountain area, mud and rock slides, torrential rainTajikistan1992
199Santa Catarina, Tubarão, torrential heavy rainBrazil1974
1992009 El Salvador floods and mudslidesEl Salvador2009
190Huigra, landslideEcuador1931
187Ulaanbaatar-Tov area, heavy rain, mostly during AugustMongolia1982
1822024 Rio Grande do Sul floodsBrazil2024
1722012 Russian floodsKrymsk2012
1652004 Brazil flood, mainly São Paulo, Pemambuco, torrential rain, mudslideBrazil2004
159Sarno flood and landslideItaly1998
154KwaZulu-NatalSouth Africa1995
141+2010–2011 Southern Africa floodsAfrica2011
140+2019 Pakistan floods and stormsPakistan2019
139Mill River (Northampton, Massachusetts)United States1874
1382010 Colombia floodsColombia2010
136+July 2025 Central Texas floodsUnited States2025
128Izumo, massive rain and mudslideJapan1964
125+2010 Leh floodsJammu and Kashmir, Pakistan/India2010
1232009 Jeddah torrential rain, floodsSaudi Arabia2009
1211986 Northern Vietnam floodsVietnam1986
1201991 Antofagasta flood, mudslideChile1991
1192007 Central and East Java torrential monsoon rain, landslide, floodIndonesia2007
117Masuda, massive rain and landslideJapan1983
115Los Angeles flood of 1938United States1938
1141990 South Korea flood, Seoul, Inchon, heavy rainSouth Korea1990
1141997 Central European floodPoland, Czech Republic1997
1132019 Jayapura flood and landslideIndonesia2019
1132021 Afghanistan flood, 2021 Nuristan floodsAfghanistan2021
110Southern Federal District, heavy rain, landslideRussia2002
1041981 Laingsburg floodSouth Africa1981
1012013 Argentina floodsArgentina2013
1012016 Sri Lankan floodsSri Lanka2016
100+2023 North India floodsIndia2023
1002008 Vietnam floodsVietnam, China2008
94The Mameyes disasterPonce, Puerto Rico1985
86"Las Nieves" camping river flood, in Biescas.Spain1996
85+January 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslidesRio de Janeiro, Brazil2010
81+Valencia floodValencia, Spain1957
81Holmfirth floods—Bilberry Reservoir dam failureUnited Kingdom1852
812021 Turkey floodsTurkey2021
80–1001852 Gundagai floodAustralia1852
80+2014 Southeast Europe floodsSerbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia2014
801988 Sudan floodsSudan1988
801977 Johnstown floodJohnstown, Pennsylvania, US1977
78Austin Dam failureUnited States1911
77+2019 Iran floodsIran2019
731993 Kagoshima flood, mudslides and debris flowJapan1993
72+2012 Nigeria floodsNigeria2012
72Gudbrandsdalen flood and landslidesNorway1789
682019 South Sulawesi floodsIndonesia2019
672003 Santa Fe floodArgentina2003
662020 Jakarta floodsIndonesia2020
622021 Niger floodsNiger2021
61Clermont and Peak Downs floodAustralia1916