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Following the catastrophic flooding (as of July 2024: 181 deaths, 32 missing and over 2.3 million people affected) in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in late April 2024, hydrological disasters1 within the South American region have garnered additional attention. Flooding and related hydrological hazards are the most common types of disasters observed globally in EM-DAT, causing significant damage to property and people. Understanding their impact is increasingly important as policymakers seek to manage disaster risk. This CRED Crunch presents a cursory overview of flooding trends and notable events over the previous two decades in South America.
Hydrological hazards are the most prevalent subgroup of natural hazards in South America and are associated with the highest number of deaths in the region. Floods comprise the majority of these hydrological hazards, although rainfallinduced mass movements also pose significant threats.
In recent years, the frequency of hydrological disasters in South America seems to have increased, relative to other types of disasters (Fig. 1).
Most Impactful Events
Brazil, Colombia, and Peru experience the largest number of hydrological disasters within the South American region (Fig. 2). Nine of the ten deadliest hydrological disasters in South America occurred within these three countries (Table 1). The deadliest hydrological event recorded in EM-DAT occurred in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, on January 11th, 2011.
Within 24 hours, a series of floods and ensuing mudslides killed at least 900 people and caused widespread destruction, which cut electricity, phone lines, and running water to thousands of inhabitants.2 In contrast to the sudden nature of Brazil’s deadliest flood, Colombia’s most fatal event over the last 20 years lasted multiple months across 2010 and 2011, when an intense rainy season affected most of the country and millions of its inhabitants.3 These two events illustrate the variety of hydrological disasters at both geographic and time scales.
Source link : https://reliefweb.int/report/world/cred-crunch-newsletter-issue-no-75-july-2024-hydrological-disasters-south-america
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Publish date : 2024-07-18 04:50:23
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