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 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 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 kilometers of 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.
