Nearly 2 billion people are at risk of major flooding

According to a study published in Nature, nearly 2 billion people, or 23% of the world’s population, are at risk of major flooding. A risk present on all continents, including France.

A few weeks ago, northeastern India and Bangladesh suffered historic floods, killing 100 people and depriving 9.5 million people of food and drinking water. But according to a study published in Nature, these 9.5 million people are a small fraction of the total number of people at risk of a major flood. According to the authors of the study, a total of 1.8 billion people, or almost a quarter of the world’s population, are exposed to the risk of extreme floods. Remember that the world population now stands at 7.9 billion people. Of these 1.8 billion, 1.24 billion people live in South and East Asia, particularly China and India, followed by Africa. The poor regions of the world represent 89% of the areas at risk. One hundred and eighty-eight countries present a risk of extreme flooding on their territory.

Europe and the United States are also risk areas

To obtain these figures, the scientists took into account the three types of floods: fluvial, pluvial, and littoral. River flooding affects countries at low altitudes. Storm flooding, such as flooding flashrelate to mountainous regions with a poor system of drainage. Coastal flooding concerning the areas located along the sea coasts.

However, almost all countries in the world are affected by the risk to varying degrees: 12.5% ​​of the population of the United States lives in an area of ​​very high risk of flooding, in particular Florida and Louisiana. Europe is not spared: England, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and France are also areas at risk. In our country, between 23 and 98% of the population in the southeast is exposed to the risk of extreme floods. More generally, 16 to 23% of the inhabitants of the eastern facade of France are considered to live in a risk zone.

Lack of preparedness leads to more climate refugees

The aim of the study is to put in light the areas most at risk, but also to point out the financial means available to deal with it in each of these countries. Extreme floods do not have the same consequences in poor regions and rich regions. The example of the Netherlands is striking, one of the countries in the world with the highest risk of flooding: almost 60% of its population is at risk of facing a major flood, but the Dutch have the best network in the world. flood protection. An observation which is obviously not the same with regard to the other countries concerned by such a high risk, such as Vietnam. The study shows the interest for governments to invest in durable protection solutions, such as conservation and restoration of wetlands which act like sponges absorbing excess water. As the authors point out, the major floods that occur at the other end of the planet have repercussions on other countries, such as ours: several tens of millions of people move each year because of disasters caused by floods.