The number of people harmed by floods will double worldwide by 2030, according to a new analysis by the World Resources Institute, a global research group.
147 million people will be hit by floods from rivers and coasts annually by the end of the decade, compared with 72 million people just 10 years ago.
By 2050, a total of 221 million people will be at risk.
Floods are getting worse because of the climate crisis, decisions to populate high-risk areas and land sinkage from the overuse of groundwater.
The worst flooding will come in south and south-east Asia, including in Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and China, where large populations are vulnerable.
The effects will be less dire but still increasingly serious in the US, where the risk is highest for coastal flooding. The US ranks third among countries with the most to lose from urban coastal flooding in the next 10 years, after China and Indonesia. By 2050, half the country’s exposed population will be in just three states – Louisiana, Massachusetts and Florida.
Once in a lifetime floods could become daily occurrences for most of the US coastline, according to a separate study. That’s because hurricanes are stronger, seas are higher and rain patterns are changing, all because of global heating caused by humans.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/23/flooding-double-number-people-worldwide-2030
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