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The fraction of the global population at risk of floods is growing

Satellite imaging combined with population data shows that, globally, the number of people living in flood-prone areas is growing faster than is the number living on higher ground — greatly increasing the potential impact of floods.
  1. Brenden Jongman

    1. Brenden Jongman is at the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, World Bank, Washington DC 20433, USA.

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Flooding of river and coastal systems is the most frequent and damaging climate-related hazard, affecting thousands of people and causing billions of dollars in losses each year1.The impacts often fall disproportionally on poor and vulnerable people, who have limited capacity to respond and recover from the shocks caused by floods. Over the past few decades, flood risk has increased globally because of a combination of climate-change-induced increases in the frequency and severity of floods, and because populations and economic activity have increased rapidly in hazard-prone areas (Fig. 1). Writing in Nature, Tellman et al.2 report a comprehensive assessment of nearly 1,000 large flood events that occurred between 2000 and 2018, and estimate the magnitude of the impacts. The findings aid our understanding of the underlying drivers of flood risk.

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Nature 596, 37-38 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01974-0

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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