Flooding in Dyersburg, USA caused widespread devestation to homes and businesses.

The Evolution of Global 

Flood Hazard & Risk

EvoFlood Overview

The EvoFlood project is a £3.7M NERC funded research programme addressing flooding, Earth's deadliest and most costly natural hazard, affecting societies across the globe. Nearly one billion people are exposed to the risk of flooding in their lifetimes. In some areas, such as along the Mekong River in Cambodia, flooding is an annual event. The yearly effects on individuals and societies are extreme:

300 million people are impacted annually by floods
300 million people are impacted annually by floods

There is now clear consensus that climate change will, in many parts of the globe, cause substantial increases in the frequency of occurrence of extreme rainfall events, which in turn will generate increases in peak flood flows and therefore flood vast areas of land.

Societal exposure to flooding is compounded by:

300 million people are impacted annually by floods
300 million people are impacted annually by floods
Mid-flood Landsat-7 image showing widespread flooding along the Mekong River in 2013.
Mid- Flood
Phnom Penh
Pre-flood Landsat-7 image showing a largely single-channel Mekong River.
Pre-Flood
Phnom Penh
Pre- and mid-flood Landsat-7 imagery showing flooding on the Mekong River near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. May and October 2013 Landsat-7 images courtesy of the USGS.