Top 10 Catastrophic Floods In History

Today, flooding has become more common than usual. In fact, just recently, Hurricane Harvey has unleashed one of the nation’s worst floods. As if that wasn’t enough, Hurricane Irma has battered Florida over the weekend and is expected to create dangerous storm surges.

However, there are other killer floods that have ravaged various countries across the globe in the past. These floods have killed thousands of people, displaced residents, and destroyed villages.

Here are the top 10 killer floods in history:

#10. North Sea Flood

The North Sea Flood on January 31, 1953 has taken the lives of 1,836 people in Netherlands. In England, the extent of the flood was unprecedented. It has led to the flooding of 140,000 acres of land, damaged 24,000 properties, and killed 307 people.

More people died in different places such as 17 deaths in Scotland, 22 deaths in West Flanders, Belgium and 230 in ships at sea, including the 133 people who were killed on the Princess Victoria.

#9. 1287 Sta. Lucia Flood

In February 1287, a strong storm hit the southern cost of England and floodwaters engulfed the area.. In December of the same year, another storm has hit which again led to massive flooding, later called St. Lucia flood. It eventually killed 50,000 people in Holland.

#8. St. Felix's Flood

In 1530, another fatal flood ravaged through Kent and Essex, England killing about 100,000 people. Called the St. Felix Quade Saterdagh (“Bad Saturday”) Flood, it washed away large parts of Flanders and Zeeland including the Verdronken Land van Reimerswaal.

#7. 1935 Yangtze River Flood

The Yangtze River flood hit China in 1935, killing nearly 150,000 people. It’s considered one of the worst floods in the country, following another deadly flood in the same river in 1911.

#6. Banqiao Dam Flood

One of the deadliest floods in history is caused by a dam failure in 1975. China’s Banqiao Dam burst amid super typhoon named Nina. It has killed about 171,000 people.

#5. 1911 Yangtze River Flood

On September 6, 1911, the Yangtze River flood was one of the deadliest disasters China has ever experienced. The longest river in China overflowed and caused massive flooding, leading to the death of 100,000 people. Worse, another 100,000 were murdered by starving marauders.

#4. 1938 Yellow River

The 1938 killer flood in Yellow River in China was man-made. During the Anti-Japanese Resistance conflict, the Chinese Nationalist military blew up the dikes on the Yellow River to prevent the entry of the Japanese soldiers. However, this has led to the death of 500,000 to 900,000 civilians.

#3. 1887 Yellow River Flood

The worst flood of the Yellow River happened in 1887, which displaced two million people and killed about 900,000 residents.

#2. Hanoi And Red River Delta Flood

The Red River, which is between Thailand and Vietnam, experienced its worst flood in 1971. It killed 100,000 people and affected one billion others.

#1. 1931 China Floods

The Chinese floods of the Yangtze River in 1931 occurred during July and August, killing 3.7 million people by the flood itself, diseases or starvation.