Floods of the world: Quantitative analysis of natural characteristics and parameters of social-economic damages

Abstract

Results of the quantitative analysis, using 12 parameters, of about 2400 floods of the world are discussed. It is shown that floods are not to a lesser extent social and economic, than the natural phenomena: the most humidified natural zones of the earth are characterized by the smallest damages from floods. Areas of the greatest humanitarian damages (massive evacuations of people, a large number of fatal cases) are related generally with areas of the greatest population density, and areas of the greatest financial damages include as well the territories which are the most developed economically. In spite of the fact that for the analyzed time period the quantity of formally recorded floods increased, average values of the key natural and social-economic parameters of floods did not undergo considerable changes, and mean values of such parameters as the average area of flooding and average financial damage from floods, even decreased a little.