The worst floods in the world. The biggest flood in the world

The largest flood in the world occurred in 1931 in China. The total death toll is over 4 million. The prehistory of this terrible event is associated with unfavorable weather conditions that arose in the period from 1928 to 1930. In the winter of 1930, heavy snowstorms began, and in the spring - heavy torrential rains and a sharp thaw. In this regard, there was a sharp rise in the water level in the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers. The water level in the Yangtze River rose 70 centimeters in July.

This led to the fact that the river quickly overflowed its banks and reached the capital of China, the city of Nanjing. Water acted as a carrier of numerous diseases: typhoid, cholera and others. Therefore, many people died as a result of infectious diseases, others drowned. Fixed real cases cannibalism and infanticide among residents who have lost hope of salvation and fell into deep despair. Chinese sources indicate that the largest flood in the world killed 145,000 people, while Western sources claim that the death toll is equal to 4 million.

How the events took place

In 1931, tropical downpours and prolonged heavy rains hit the Chinese provinces. As a result of the large volume of water, numerous dams were unable to cope with the huge flows. Barrage structures were simultaneously destroyed in different places. At the same time, an increased activity of cyclones was observed, since in July there were about 7 of them. Given that the climatic norm is 2 times a year.

The peak point of this large-scale disaster was a strong typhoon that struck one of the largest lakes in China, Gaoyu, which is located in Jiangsu province. During this period of time, the water level was at an extremely high mark due to the passing of numerous rains.

The strongest wind raised high waves, which beat against various structures and dams. After midnight, a very large gap was formed, which reached 700 meters. Almost all the dams were destroyed, so a stormy stream rushed into the city and destroyed everything that came in its way. About 10 thousand people died overnight.

In 1931, there was a flood that paralyzed life in northern China. The water did not leave some places for up to 6 months. People did not have enough food, typhus and cholera epidemics broke out in the city, and there was no roof overhead. The government at that time was concentrated by the war between the nationalists and the communists, as well as the Japanese intervention in the north. The injured people were assisted by foreign citizens and rescue missions. The famous pilot Charles Lindbergh and his wife hosted Active participation in the delivery of medicines and food. Also, Lindbergh made his flights together with a Chinese doctor who provided medical assistance victims.

How did it end

With the help of two million people, China managed to cope with the disaster and its consequences. People were restoring dams and infrastructure of the city. However, China was waiting for several more large floods, which destroyed the erected dams. In 1938, there was an intentional explosion of the structures that contained the Yellow River. This made it possible to stop the advance of enemy armies during the Second World War. A huge area was flooded, resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands of people.

A flood of this magnitude was not the only one in Chinese history, as the Yangtze overflowed its banks in 1911, when the death toll numbered 100,000. In 1935, a large-scale flood took place, which claimed the lives of 142 thousand people, and in 1954, as a result of a natural disaster, about 30 thousand people died. Last time the flood occurred in 1998 when the death toll was 3,656.

During this terrible natural disaster, 330 thousand hectares of land were flooded, and 40 million people lost their homes. The harvest on a huge territory was completely destroyed, and a total of 3 million people died from disease and hunger. That is why this flood is one of the largest natural disasters in the history of mankind.

You should be aware that such natural phenomena caused by rising water were not uncommon in China. Monsoon rains during the summer season contributed to the disaster. Summer winds from the side The Pacific bring humid air, the accumulation of which leads to abundant rain.

In the past, floods were caused by the formation of ice dams in the upper reaches of the river. To date, ice dams are being destroyed by aircraft bombing. This is done well before they become dangerous. Thanks to the construction of irrigation facilities in the 20th century, the threat of flooding in the Huaihe River Basin has been minimized.

Also, the construction of a special dam called "Three Gorges" helped to solve the problem with recurring floods. The structure was commissioned in 2012 and is one of the largest hydraulic structures in the world. The hydroelectric power plant was designed to protect land in the lower reaches of the Yantsa River, which was disastrously damaged and killed several thousand people.

In December 2003, a memorial museum was erected in Gaoyu City to commemorate the people who were severely affected by the floods in 1931.

Late summer 2013 on Far East a powerful flood hit, which led to the largest flooding in the past 115 years. The flood covered five regions of the Far East federal district, the total area of flooded areas was more than 8 million square kilometers. In total, 37 were flooded since the beginning of the flood. municipal districts, 235 settlements and more than 13 thousand residential buildings. Over 100 thousand people were injured. More than 23 thousand people were evacuated. The most affected were the Amur Region, which was the first to receive the blow of the elements, the Jewish Autonomous Region and the Khabarovsk Territory.

On the night of July 7, 2012 the flood flooded thousands of residential buildings in the cities of Gelendzhik, Krymsk and Novorossiysk, as well as in a number of villages in the Krasnodar Territory. The systems of energy, gas and water supply, automobile and railway traffic were disrupted. According to the prosecutor's office, 168 people were killed, two more were missing. Most of the dead were in Krymsk, which suffered the strongest blow of the elements. In this city, 153 people died, more than 60 thousand people were recognized as victims. 1.69 thousand houses were recognized as completely destroyed in the Crimean region. About 6.1 thousand houses were damaged. The flood damage amounted to about 20 billion rubles.

In April 2004 in the Kemerovo region there was a flood due to a rise in the level of the local rivers Kondoma, Tom and their tributaries. More than six thousand houses were destroyed, 10 thousand people were injured, nine were killed. 37 pedestrian bridges, 80 kilometers of regional and 20 kilometers of municipal roads were damaged. The element also disrupted telephone communications.
The damage, according to experts, amounted to 700-750 million rubles.

In August 2002 in the Krasnodar Territory there was a fleeting tornado and torrential rains. In Novorossiysk, Anapa, Krymsk and 15 other settlements of the region, over 7 thousand residential buildings and administrative buildings were in the flooded zone. The disaster also damaged 83 housing and communal services, 20 bridges, 87.5 kilometers of highways, 45 water intakes and 19 transformer substations. 424 residential buildings were completely destroyed. 59 people were killed. The forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations evacuated 2.37 thousand people from dangerous areas.

June 2002 9 subjects of the Southern Federal District suffered catastrophic flooding as a result of the last torrential rains. There were 377 settlements in the flood zone. The disaster destroyed 13.34 thousand houses, damaged almost 40 thousand residential buildings and 445 educational institutions... The disaster claimed the lives of 114 people, and another 335 thousand people suffered. Specialists of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, other ministries and departments rescued a total of 62 thousand people, more than 106 thousand residents of the Southern Federal District were evacuated from dangerous areas. The damage amounted to 16 billion rubles.

July 7, 2001 in the Irkutsk region, due to heavy rains, a number of rivers overflowed their banks and flooded seven cities and 13 districts (a total of 63 settlements). Sayansk was especially affected. According to official data, eight people died, 300 thousand people were injured, and 4.64 thousand houses were flooded.

In May 2001 the water level in the Lena River exceeded the maximum flood and reached a mark of 20 meters. Already in the first days after the catastrophic flood, 98% of the territory of the city of Lensk was flooded. The flood practically washed away Lensk from the face of the earth. More than 3.3 thousand houses were destroyed, 30.8 thousand people were injured. In total, in Yakutia, as a result of the flood, 59 settlements were affected, 5.2 thousand residential buildings were flooded. The total amount of damage amounted to 7.08 billion rubles, including 6.2 billion rubles in the city of Lensk.

May 16 and 17, 1998 in the area of the city of Lensk, Yakutia, there was a strong flood. It was caused by ice congestion along the lower course of the Lena River, as a result of which the water level rose to 17 meters, while the critical flooding level of the city of Lensk was 13.5 meters. More than 172 settlements with a population of 475 thousand people were in the flooded zone. More than 50 thousand people were evacuated from the flooded zone. The flood killed 15 people. The flood damage amounted to 872.5 million rubles.

History remembers several of the most terrible floods; such natural disasters also happened on the territory of Russia, including in St. Petersburg. Several devastating floods occurred in the twentieth century.

The worst floods in history

In historical chronicles, you can read about the set severe floods, which took away several hundred thousand human lives. Due to the fact that such things happen natural disasters unexpectedly, people find themselves unprepared for them.

Some floods are due to river flooding, dam breaks, incessant rainfall, oceanic earthquakes and tsunamis. It is known about floods, which were provoked by people on purpose.

Flood of St. Mary Magdalene

One of the most devastating floods occurred in 1342. It is considered the largest in Central Europe. Several rivers emerged from the banks at once: Rhine, Weser, Main, Moselle, Werra, Elbe, etc. Having flooded the surrounding lands, water damaged such large European cities as Cologne, Passau, Vienna, Regensburg, Frankfurt am Main.

The reason for this was the heavy rains that had been going on for several days. The exact number of those drowned is unknown; we can say that there were several thousand of them. This natural disaster is called the flood of St. Mary Magdalene.

Flood Burkhardi

More than eight thousand human lives were claimed by the flood that occurred in 1634 in Denmark and Germany. Due to the hurricane wind, a storm surge of water began, which led to the breakthrough of the dam at once in several places off the coast of the North Sea.

The communities of North Friesland and many coastal cities were flooded. This flood is called the Burkhardi flood.

Floods on the Yellow River

As you know, the Yellow River is one of the most capricious rivers in China. It is famous for its frequent floods, and many times its waters have claimed many lives. The largest spills of the Yellow River occurred in 1887 and 1938.

In 1887, after prolonged rains, there were multiple dam breaks. Due to the flooding, almost two million people lost their homes, nine hundred thousand people died. In 1938, a flood was provoked by the nationalist government, thus wanting to stop the Japanese offensive against China. Many villages were destroyed, thousands of hectares of agricultural land, almost five hundred thousand people drowned, millions became refugees.

The worst floods of the twentieth century

Unfortunately, the twentieth century was not without floods either. One of them happened in China in 1931 on a river called the Yangtze. According to rough estimates, about four million people died. This flood is considered the most severe since the Flood. Four million houses were demolished, three hundred thousand square kilometers were covered with water.

In 1970, severe flooding occurred in the Ganges delta in India. It claimed the lives of five hundred thousand people. It was caused by the waters of the Kosi River and torrential monsoon rains. By breaking the dam, the waters of Kosi changed the course and flooded a vast region that had never been flooded before.

In 1927, there was a flood in America called the "Great". The waters of the Mississippi overflowed the banks due to heavy rains. The flooding affected the territory of ten states, reaching a depth of ten meters in some places. For the sake of not being flooded New Orleans, it was decided to blow up a dam near the city. As a result, other territories were flooded. About five hundred thousand people died.

At the end of April 1991, the devastating cyclone Marian raised a nine-meter wave off the coast of Bangladesh. The flood resulted in the death of one hundred and forty thousand people. The lands flooded with salt water became unsuitable for agriculture for many years.

Floods in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg suffered from floods quite often. The city was flooded at least three hundred and thirty times. In different districts you can see memorial plaques on houses showing the water level. There are about twenty such tablets.

In 1691, even before the founding of St. Petersburg, when the territory of the city was under the Swedes, it was also flooded by the waters of the Neva. This is evidenced by the Swedish chronicles, according to which the water level in the river rose to seven hundred and sixty-two centimeters.

The worst flood occurred in 1824. According to various estimates, from two hundred to six hundred thousand citizens died as a result. It is known that the water level in the Neva has risen by more than four meters. Many houses were destroyed and flooded. Before the flood, heavy rain began, followed by a sharp rise in water.

The worst flood in the world - the Flood: myth or reality

Not only the Bible tells about the Flood, many peoples living in almost all parts of the planet have similar descriptions of a terrible flood. You can read about the flood in the myths of the Californian Indians, it is told about it in ancient Mexican manuscripts, the myths of the Canadian Indians. It is known about the Japanese "version" of the flood. Quite rarely, it is reported by manuscripts found in the interior regions of Africa and Asia, which are located at a considerable distance from the oceans and seas.

It can be concluded that many legends about the flood are associated with some local phenomena that led to a sharp rise in the water level. Scientists have expressed several versions of a powerful flood. Most likely, the so-called Flood took place in different parts of the Earth, was in each region and had its own reasons for its occurrence on different continents.

Floods also carry giant waves. ...
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Late summer 2013 the Far East was hit by a powerful flood, which led to the largest flooding in the last 115 years. The flood covered five subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District, the total area of the flooded territories was more than 8 million square kilometers. In total, 37 municipal districts, 235 settlements and more than 13 thousand residential buildings have been flooded since the beginning of the flood. Over 100 thousand people were injured. More than 23 thousand people were evacuated. The most affected were the Amur Region, which was the first to receive the blow of the elements, the Jewish Autonomous Region and the Khabarovsk Territory.

In April 2004 in the Kemerovo region there was a flood due to a rise in the level of the local rivers Kondoma, Tom and their tributaries. More than six thousand houses were destroyed, 10 thousand people were injured, nine were killed. In the city of Tashtagol, located in the flood zone, and the villages closest to it, 37 pedestrian bridges were destroyed by flood waters, 80 kilometers of regional and 20 kilometers of municipal roads were damaged. The element also disrupted telephone communications.
The damage, according to experts, amounted to 700-750 million rubles.

June 2002 9 subjects of the Southern Federal District suffered catastrophic flooding as a result of the last torrential rains. There were 377 settlements in the flood zone. The disaster destroyed 13.34 thousand houses, damaged almost 40 thousand residential buildings and 445 educational institutions. The disaster claimed the lives of 114 people, and another 335 thousand people suffered. Specialists of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, other ministries and departments rescued a total of 62 thousand people, more than 106 thousand residents of the Southern Federal District were evacuated from dangerous areas. The damage amounted to 16 billion rubles.

The summer of 2017 turned out to be unusually rainy. Fortunately, this year's heavy rainfall is far from the devastating floods that hit Germany and China centuries ago.

1. Petersburg flood, 1824, about 200-600 dead. On November 19, 1824, a flood occurred in St. Petersburg, which killed hundreds of lives and destroyed many houses. Then the water level in the Neva River and its canals rose by 4.14 - 4.21 meters above the usual level (ordinar).

Petersburg flood of 1824. The author of the painting: Fyodor Yakovlevich Alekseev (1753-1824).

Before the flooding began, it rained and a damp and cold wind blew in the city. In the evening, there was a sharp rise in the water level in the canals, after which almost the entire city was flooded. The flood did not affect only the Liteinaya, Rozhdestvenskaya and Karetnaya parts of St. Petersburg. As a result, the material damage from the flood amounted to about 15-20 million rubles, and about 200-600 people died. One way or another, this is not the only flood that has occurred in St. Petersburg. In total, the city on the Neva was flooded more than 330 times. In memory of many floods in the city, memorial plaques (there are more than 20) are installed. In particular, a sign is dedicated to the largest flood in the city, which is located at the intersection of the Kadetskaya Line and Bolshoy Prospect of Vasilyevsky Island.

Commemorative plaque at the Raskolnikov House. Interestingly, before the founding of St. Petersburg, the largest flood in the Neva delta occurred in 1691, when this territory was under the control of the Kingdom of Sweden. This incident is mentioned in the Swedish chronicles. According to some reports, that year the water level in the Neva reached 762 centimeters.

2. Flooding in China, 1931, about 145 thousand - 4 million deaths. From 1928 to 1930, China suffered from severe drought. But at the end of the winter of 1930, severe blizzards began, and in the spring - incessant torrential rains and thaws, due to which the water level in the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers rose significantly. For example, in the Yangtze River in July alone, the water rose by 70 cm.

As a result, the river overflowed its banks and soon reached the city of Nanjing, then the capital of China. Many people drowned and died from waterborne infectious diseases such as cholera and typhus. There are known cases of cannibalism and infanticide among desperate residents.

Flood victims, August 1931.

According to Chinese sources, the flooding killed about 145,000 people, while Western sources say the death toll was between 3.7 million and 4 million. By the way, this was not the only flood in China caused by the overflowing waters of the Yangtze River. Floods also occurred in 1911 (about 100 thousand people died), in 1935 (about 142 thousand people died), in 1954 (about 30 thousand people died) and in 1998 (3 656 people died).

3. Flooding on the Yellow River, 1887 and 1938, about 900 thousand and 500 thousand deaths, respectively. In 1887, heavy rains fell for many days in Henan province, and on September 28, rising water in the Yellow River broke through dams. Soon the water reached the city of Zhengzhou, located in this province, and then spread throughout the northern part of China, which covers approximately 130,000 km². The flooding left about two million people homeless in China, and an estimated 900,000 people died. And in 1938, a flood on the same river was provoked by the nationalist government in Central China at the start of the Sino-Japanese War. This was done in order to stop the Japanese troops rapidly advancing into the central part of China. Subsequently, the flood was called "the largest act of environmental warfare in history." So, in June 1938, the Japanese took control of all northern part China, and on June 6 they captured Kaifeng, the capital of Henan province, and threatened to capture Zhengzhou, which was near the intersection of important railways Beijing-Guangzhou and Lianyungang-Xian. If Japanese army managed to do this, such large Chinese cities as Wuhan and Xian would be under threat. To prevent this, the Chinese government in Central China decided to open dams on the Yellow River near the city of Zhengzhou. Water flooded the provinces of Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu adjacent to the river.

Soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army during the floods on the Yellow River in 1938. The floods destroyed thousands of square kilometers of agricultural land and many villages. Several million people have become refugees. According to initial data from China, about 800 thousand people drowned. However, today researchers studying the disaster archives claim that much fewer people- about 400 - 500 thousand.

Refugees following the 1983 flood.

Interestingly, the value of this strategy by the Chinese government has been questioned. Since, according to some reports, the Japanese troops at that time were far from the flooded areas. And although their advance on Zhengzhou was prevented, the Japanese took Wuhan in October.

4. Flood of St. Felix, 1530, at least 100 thousand dead. On Saturday 5 November 1530, Saint Felix de Valois's Day, most of Flanders, the historic area of the Netherlands, and the province of Zeeland were washed away. Researchers believe more than 100,000 people have died. Subsequently, the day when the disaster occurred was called the Evil Saturday.

5. Flood Burkhardi, 1634, about 8-15 thousand dead... On the night of October 11-12, 1634, as a result of a storm surge caused by a hurricane, flooding occurred in Germany and Denmark. That night, dams burst in several places along the North Sea coast, flooding the coastal towns and communities of North Friesland.

A painting depicting the Burkhardi flood.

According to various estimates, from 8 to 15 thousand people died during the flood.

Maps of North Friesland in 1651 (left) and 1240 (right). The author of both maps: Johannes Mejer.

6. Flood of St. Mary Magdalene, 1342, several thousand... In July 1342, on the day of commemoration of the myrrh-bearer Mary Magdalene (the Catholic and Lutheran churches celebrate it on July 22), the largest recorded flood occurred in Central Europe. On this day, the rivers Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube, Weser, Werra, Unstrut, Elbe, Vltava and their tributaries flooded the surrounding lands, which overflowed the banks of the rivers. Many cities such as Cologne, Mainz, Frankfurt am Main, Würzburg, Regensburg, Passau and Vienna were seriously damaged.

According to the researchers of this disaster, after a long hot and dry period, heavy rains followed, which continued for several days in a row. As a result, about half of the average annual precipitation fell. And since the extremely dry soil could not quickly absorb such an amount of water, the surface runoff flooded large areas territories. Many buildings were destroyed and thousands of people died. And although the total death toll is unknown, it is believed that about 6 thousand people drowned in the Danube region alone. In addition, the summer of the following year was wet and cold, so the population was left without crops and suffered greatly from hunger. And on top of that, the plague pandemic that took place in the middle of the XIV century across Asia, Europe, North Africa and the island of Greenland (Black Death), peaked in 1348-1350, killing at least a third of the population of Central Europe.

Illustration of the Black Death, 1411.