The statistic ranks major floods by economic damage caused in the period from 1900 to 2016*. A flood in China in 1998 caused damage estimated to be worth 30 billion U.S. dollars.
Economic damage caused by significant floods worldwide
The Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters released data on the economic damage caused by significant floods worldwide as of July 2014. According to this data, the flood of August 5, 2011 in Thailand was by far the most economically damaging flood between 1900 and 2013, causing roughly 40 billion U.S. dollars of damage.
Thailand’s floods of August 2011 reportedly killed 42 people and occurred in the north and north-eastern areas of the country. Heavy seasonal rain and tropical storm Nock Ten were to blame for the flooding. Nock Ten, which formed on July 24, first made landfall in the Philippines, where it killed 75 people. It also made landfall in China, Vietnam and Laos, where more damage was done and more people died. An estimated 1.5 million people were affected in Thailand as water flowed downstream in the Yom River and Nan River to provinces in the Central Plains area. Thailand is one of the top 20 most populated countries, with roughly 68 million inhabitants. Due to flooding, roughly 650,000 individuals were evacuated from low-lying areas in Thailand and 6,200 acres of rice and other crop fields were submerged by flowing water.
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Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). (November 17, 2016). Economic damage caused by significant floods worldwide from 1900 to 2016* (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved September 01, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/267750/economic-damage-caused-by-floods-worldwide/
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). "Economic damage caused by significant floods worldwide from 1900 to 2016* (in billion U.S. dollars)." Chart. November 17, 2016. Statista. Accessed September 01, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/267750/economic-damage-caused-by-floods-worldwide/
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). (2016). Economic damage caused by significant floods worldwide from 1900 to 2016* (in billion U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: September 01, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/267750/economic-damage-caused-by-floods-worldwide/
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). "Economic Damage Caused by Significant Floods Worldwide from 1900 to 2016* (in Billion U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 17 Nov 2016, https://www.statista.com/statistics/267750/economic-damage-caused-by-floods-worldwide/
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Economic damage caused by significant floods worldwide from 1900 to 2016* (in billion U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/267750/economic-damage-caused-by-floods-worldwide/ (last visited September 01, 2024)
Economic damage caused by significant floods worldwide from 1900 to 2016* (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph], Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), November 17, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/267750/economic-damage-caused-by-floods-worldwide/