10 Worst Floods Of All Time.

Floods are nature’s one of the scariest natural disasters. Here are the 10 worst floods of all time, which have not only claimed thousands of lives but also left an ineradicable mark on earth’s geography.

1. Grote Mandrenke - 1362
Date: 16 January
Location: Netherlands
Grote Mandrenke or the Saint Marcellus flood caused damage to both physical resources and human lives. About 0.075 million lives were lost in this that swept across Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. Even reports suggested vanishing of islands from the map, resulting in permanent damage to the coastline.

2. St. Felix’s Flood - 1530
Date: 5 November
Location: Holy Roman Empire
It is still considered the worst disaster flood in European history. The flood destroyed the Dutch city of Reimerswaal, killing about 100,000 people. Area of Zeeland and Flanders completely washed away and survivors of this city then moved to a different place, to begin with, their lives. And so, Dutch consider Nov 5th as “Evil Saturday” to start with.

3. Indus river flood -1841
Date: 26 January
Indus river flood is considered as the worst flood of water discharge, which engulfed all the surroundings. The reason behind flooding was due to the sudden landslides caused by an earthquake in the Nanga Parbat region. The number of lives lost in a disaster is estimated as half a million. Following the flood, the Sikh army of 500 men also wiped off.

4. Yellow River Flood - 1887
Date: 28 September
Location: China
The Hwang Ho, commonly known as the yellow river is considered as the deadliest river on earth. Heavy rainfall raised the level of water above the dike (a wall that meant to protect the local population from floods) and led to flooding of 50,000 square miles of area and killing of 900,000 in an eye blink.

5. Yangtze River Flood - 1931
Date: 18 August
Location: China
On this day, the Yangtze River flood affected about 3.7 million people. This was the worst natural disaster of the 20th century flooded over a 500 square-mile-area. As the water continued to rise in August, the stage was set for disaster. As flood swept through villages, washed out many rice fields and destroyed many houses. Pollution in the river also caused diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera, etc.

6. Yellow River Flood - 1938
Date: June 1938
Location: China
As a deliberate act of war between China and Japan, Chinese commander Chiang Kai-shek ordered to open the dikes along the yellow river. This strategic decision caused tremendous flooding. This is considered as the most devastating attack of all time in the history of China, both in terms of loss of human life and environmental destruction.

7. Eastern Guatemala Flood - 1949
Date: 27 September
Location: Guatemala
The flood was a part of the hurricane from both Atlantic and Pacific coasts. A tropical storm turned into a hurricane, leading to the disaster in the southern coastal regions of Guatemala. Death toll was estimated to be around 40,000.

8. Hanoi and Red River Delta Flood - 1971
Date: 1 August
Location: North Vietnam
The red river delta flood was the worst disaster in the history of Vietnam. Due to the conflict between Americans and Vietnamese information was limited but at least 10,000 people died.

9. Bangladesh Flood - 1974
Date: April - June
Location: Bangladesh
Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh led to flood due to heavy rainfall between April to June. Initial estimated lost lives were 28,700, however, it was the beginning of the tragedy. The flood also wiped out crops throughout the country. At the time, the US also restricted food in Bangladesh which limited the import of food and as a result, millions went hungry and led to the death of 1.5 million more people.

10. Banqiao Dam Failure - 1975
Date: 8 August
Location: China
The construction of the Banqiao dam was started in 1971. The design of the dam due to a shortage of concrete, it was not that standard. Thus, Chinese dam failed and burst open as unexpected Typhoon Nina cause excessive rainfall of 1000mm per day. The estimated amount of lost lives was around 171,000 - 230,000. Even today, people in China blame the government for design flaws in the dam.