Water, water all around: the largest floods in Russia. The worst floods in the history of mankind The biggest floods in the world

About 200-600 dead. On November 19, 1824, a flood occurred in St. Petersburg, which killed hundreds of people and destroyed many houses. Then the water level in the Neva River and its canals rose 4.14 - 4.21 meters above the normal level (ordinary).

Memorial plaque on the Raskolnikov House:

Before the flood began, it was raining and a damp and cold wind was blowing in the city. And 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, 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 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 have been installed (there are more than 20 of them). 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 Prospekt of Vasilievsky Island.

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 Swedish chronicles. According to some reports, that year the water level in the Neva reached 762 centimeters.

2.

About 145 thousand - 4 million dead. From 1928 to 1930, China suffered from severe drought. But at the end of the winter of 1930, strong snowstorms began, and in the spring there were incessant heavy rains and a thaw, which caused the water level in the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers to rise significantly. For example, in the Yangtze River the water rose by 70 cm in July alone.

As a result, the river overflowed its banks and soon reached the city of Nanjing, which was at that time 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.

According to Chinese sources, about 145 thousand people died as a result of the flood, while Western sources claim that 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 waters of the Yangtze River overflowing its banks. 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). Counts largest natural disaster in recorded human history.

Flood victims, August 1931:

3. Yellow River Flood, 1887 and 1938

About 900 thousand and 500 thousand dead, respectively. In 1887, heavy rain fell for many days in Henan Province, and on September 28, rising water in the Yellow River broke the dams. Soon the water reached the city of Zhengzhou, located in this province, and then spread across the entire northern part of China, covering approximately 130,000 sq. km. Due to the flood, about two million people in China were left homeless and approximately 900 thousand people died.

And in 1938, a flood on the same river was caused by the Nationalist government in Central China at the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War. This was done in order to stop Japanese troops rapidly advancing into central China. The flood was subsequently called "the largest act of environmental warfare in history."

Thus, in June 1938, the Japanese took control of the entire northern part of China, and on June 6 they captured Kaifeng, the capital of Henan Province, and threatened to capture Zhengzhou, which was located near the intersection of the important Beijing-Guangzhou and Lianyungang-Xi'an railways. If the Japanese army had managed to do this, major Chinese cities such as Wuhan and Xi'an would have been under threat.

In order 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.

The floods destroyed thousands of square kilometers of farmland and many villages. Several million people became refugees. According to initial data from China, about 800 thousand people drowned. However, these days, researchers studying the archives of the disaster claim that much fewer people died - about 400 - 500 thousand.

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

At least 100 thousand dead. On Saturday 5 November 1530, Saint Felix de Valois's day, most of Flanders, the historical region of the Netherlands, and the province of Zealand were washed away. Researchers believe that more than 100 thousand people died. Subsequently, the day when the disaster occurred began to be called Evil Saturday.

5. Burchardi flood, 1634

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

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

Maps of North Friesland in 1651 (left) and 1240 (right):

6. Flood of St. Mary Magdalene, 1342

Several thousand. In July 1342, on the feast day of the Myrrh-Bearer Mary Magdalene (the Catholic and Lutheran churches celebrate it on July 22), the largest recorded flood in Central Europe occurred.

On this day, the overflowing waters of the rivers Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube, Weser, Werra, Unstrut, Elbe, Vltava and their tributaries flooded the surrounding lands. Many cities, such as Cologne, Mainz, Frankfurt am Main, Würzburg, Regensburg, Passau and Vienna, were seriously damaged.

According to researchers of this disaster, a long hot and dry period was followed by heavy rains that fell 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, surface runoff flooded large areas of the territory. Many buildings were destroyed and thousands of people died. Although the total number of deaths 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, which passed through Asia, Europe, North Africa and the island of Greenland (Black Death) in the mid-14th century, reached its peak in 1348-1350, taking the lives of at least a third of the population of Central Europe.

Illustration of the Black Death, 1411:

Among the disasters described below, there is one that also affected Ukraine. Read on for details.

No. 10. Flood on the Po and Arno rivers (Italy, 1966)

This year the heavy rains lasted for a whole week. The result: a sharp increase in water levels in rivers, which the protective dams could not withstand. So Florence and Pisa were flooded. For the first, this natural disaster turned out to be the worst in the last 500 years. It destroyed:

• more than 5 thousand residential buildings;
• about 6 thousand enterprises;
• caused incredible damage to Florence as one of the cultural centers of the world. Including museum exhibits (collections of books, paintings, manuscripts) that were located there.

Source: jeffhead.com

No. 9. Flood on the Dnieper (Ukraine, 1931)

One day, nature mocked our homeland: it gave Ukraine a rainy autumn in 1930, and a record amount of snow in the winter of 1930-31. This led to the fact that in the spring of 1931 there was more water in the Dnieper than usual. Result: the river flooded an area 12 km long from Mogilev to Zaporozhye, and with it:

• many residential buildings;
• 2 power plants;
• several factories and factories (including food factories, which created additional conditions for hunger).

Source: dnepr.com

No. 8. Flood in the North Sea countries (Denmark, Great Britain, Norway, Belgium, Germany, 1953)

In the winter of 1953, there was a high tide in the North Sea caused by a storm. It turned out to be almost 6 meters higher than expected values. Result: the coasts of Denmark, Great Britain, Norway, Belgium and Germany were flooded. The total number of deaths is about 2,500 people.

But European countries distributed among themselves compensation for losses caused by the disaster. Thus, the economic damage did not have too catastrophic consequences. Although the Netherlands, as the country that suffered the brunt of the tide, did not have it easy.

Source: exdat.com

No. 7. Pacific Coast Flood (Thailand, 1983)

And Thailand was tormented by monsoon rains in 1983. They rained continuously for almost 3 months, which practically paralyzed the country. The result: damages estimated at $500 million. And there was also a considerable number of dead - 10 thousand people. Plus another 100 thousand patients became infected with water-borne infections.

Source: chime.in

No. 6. Pacific Coast Flood (Japan, 2011)

An earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, generating a tsunami up to 40.5 meters high in places. And this disaster struck the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Miyagi Prefecture suffered the most:

• local communications were cut off;
• the airport is flooded;
• the water washed away and overturned cars and planes, and destroyed buildings.

The total number of deaths from the earthquake and tsunami is 23 thousand people.

Source: moimir.org

No. 5. Surge on the Pacific coast (Bangladesh, 1991)

Today Marian is just a beautiful name. And in 1991, for Bangladesh it was a terrible cyclone that raised a wave 7-9 meters high. The disaster struck the southeastern coast of the country, took the lives of about 140 thousand people, and wiped out almost a million buildings from the face of the earth. Huge damage was caused to agriculture:

• crops were destroyed over a gigantic territory;
• livestock died;
• The flooding of the area by salty sea water made the land unsuitable for agriculture for a long time.

Source: dantri.com.vn

No. 4. Flood on the Indian Ocean coast (Indonesia, India, Thailand, 2004)

2004 was the year when an incredibly powerful underwater earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean. The result was a tsunami that hit the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India and even Thailand. The number of dead and missing as a result of the cataclysm exceeded 230 thousand people. But the giant wave did not stop there, and after 7 hours it reached Somalia, having overcome almost the entire ocean. There she took the lives of 250 people.

Throughout the history of mankind, there have been many floods of varying scales, but very often people are not prepared for such tests, which is why floods are accompanied by a large number of victims.

This is one of the largest and most terrible floods that occurred in 1342, it is considered the largest in all of Central Europe, when all the largest rivers overflowed their banks. At that time, the Rhine, Weser, Main, Moselle, Werra, Elbe and several other large rivers overflowed. Cologne, Passau, Vienna, Regensburg, and Frankfurt on the Main were flooded.

This flood occurred in 1634, and it claimed the lives of more than 8 thousand people. It hit Denmark and Germany as a result of a strong hurricane wind, which pumped up waves with great force and the North Sea dam broke in several places at once.

The Yellow River is one of the most unstable and capricious Chinese rivers. Very often this river overflowed, taking the lives of people. Its largest spills occurred in 1887 and 1938.

The worst floods of the 20th century

In our century, unfortunately, there were also floods. One of the largest floods occurred in 1931 on the Yangtze River in China, in that fateful year more than 4 million people died and an equal number of houses and buildings were destroyed. An area of ​​about 300,000 square kilometers was covered with water.

Even before the founding of St. Petersburg in 1691, a major flood occurred in the Neva delta. At that time, this territory was under the control of the Kingdom of Sweden. According to some reports, that year the water level in the Neva reached 762 cm. Since 1703, when the city was founded, more than 300 floods have been recorded (water rise of more than 160 cm), of which 210 with a rise of more than 210 cm. The largest one occurred in November 1824. Then the water level in the Neva and its canals rose more than 4 meters above the normal level (ordinary). According to various sources, from 200 to 600 people died. Material damage amounted to about 15-20 million rubles.

St. Petersburg flood of 1824, F. Ya. Alekseev. Source: wikipedia.org

1908

One of the largest floods in Moscow in April 1908. The water in the Moscow River rose by 8.9 m. The elements overcame the city until the middle of the 20th century, when the Istrinskoye, Mozhaiskoye, Ruzskoye and Ozerninskoye reservoirs were built, on which the river flow was regulated. After their appearance, major floods on the Moscow River stopped.

Flood of 1908. Sofia embankment. (wikipedia.org)

1972

In the summer of 1971, due to intense rains in Buryatia, a catastrophic flood occurred on the Selenga River. The water level reached almost 8 m above normal. 6 districts with 57 settlements and a population of 56 thousand people were flooded. More than 3 thousand houses were destroyed, crops were flooded on an area of ​​73.8 thousand hectares. The damage caused amounted to $47 million.

1987

In 1987, the Chita region had to endure two floods - at the end of June and in July. Floods on the rivers of the Chita region, which arose due to heavy rains, were extraordinary both in the nature of their rise and intensity, and in their duration and simultaneous coverage of almost all areas of the region. In total, 16 areas were flooded, including the Chernyshevsk station, the village of Bukachach and 50 villages. The flood damaged 1.5 thousand houses, 59 bridges, 149 km of roads. Damage from floods amounted to 105 million rubles.

1990

In July 1990, Typhoon Robin came to the Primorsky Territory. More than two months' worth of precipitation fell in just a few days. A catastrophic flood occurred on the rivers of the region, which suddenly overflowed with rainwater. Vladivostok, Bolshoy Kamen and the Khasan and Nadezhdinsky districts were seriously affected by it. Over 800 thousand people found themselves in the disaster zone. The flood destroyed 730 houses, 11 schools, 5 kindergartens and nurseries, and 56 shops. 26 bridges on the roads were flooded and partially destroyed. The damage amounted to 280 million rubles.

1991

A catastrophic rain flood occurred on August 1 in the Western Caucasus, when the height of the flood wave reached 5-9 m. Due to heavy rains and a tornado, mudflows occurred in Sochi, Tuapse and Lazarevsky regions. In Sochi, 254 houses were flooded, 3 clinics were destroyed, dozens of enterprises and a road bridge were flooded. More than 6 thousand tons of petroleum products spilled at the Tuapse oil refinery. 30 people died from the rampant disaster. The city of Tuapse alone suffered damage worth $144 million, and the entire Krasnodar Territory - about $300 million.

1993

In June 1993, a blind earthen dam of the Kiselevskoye Reservoir broke out near the city of Serov, Sverdlovsk Region. The flood affected 6.5 thousand people, 15 people died. The total material damage amounted to 63 billion rubles.

Flood in the Sverdlovsk region. (wikipedia.org)

year 2001

The largest flood in the history of Yakutia occurred in May 2001. It was popularly dubbed the “Lena Flood.” The flood occurred due to unprecedented ice jams on the Lena. The water level in the river exceeded the maximum flood level and reached 20 meters. Already in the first days, 98% of the territory of the city of Lensk was flooded. More than 3 thousand houses were destroyed, 30.8 thousand people were injured. The total damage amounted to 7 billion rubles.

2002

In the summer of 2002, in the south of Russia, due to heavy rainfall, a major flood occurred, which affected 9 regions. The Stavropol Territory suffered the most. There were 377 settlements in the flood zone. The disaster destroyed more than 13 thousand houses, more than 40 thousand buildings were damaged. More than 100 people died. The total damage is estimated at 16-18 billion rubles.

Flood in 2002. (wikipedia.org)

2004

In April 2004, a flood occurred in the Kemerovo region due to rising levels of the local rivers Kondoma, Tom and their tributaries. More than six thousand houses were destroyed, 10 thousand people were injured, nine died. 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 disaster also disrupted telephone communications. The damage, according to experts, amounted to 700-750 million rubles.

year 2012

On July 6-7, 2012, heavy rainfall in the Krasnodar region led to the most destructive flood in the entire history of the region. The main blow of the disaster fell on the Krymsky district and directly on Krymsk, a city with a population of 57 thousand people. As a result of the flood in Krymsk, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 171 people died. 53 thousand people were recognized as victims of the disaster, of which 29 thousand lost property. Over 7 thousand private households and 185 apartment buildings were destroyed. Energy, gas and water supply systems, road and rail traffic were disrupted. Experts gave this flood the status of outstanding, and foreign media described it as a flash flood - sudden. The total damage from the flood is estimated at approximately 20 billion rubles.

Krymsk. (wikipedia.org)

year 2013

At the end of the summer of 2013, a powerful flood hit the Far East, which led to the largest flood in the region in the last 115 years. It covered five subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District, the total area of ​​flooded territories was more than 8 million square meters. km.

Amur region. (wikipedia.org)

In total, 37 municipal districts, 235 settlements and more than 13 thousand residential buildings were flooded. Over 100 thousand people were affected. The most affected were the Amur Region, which was the first to receive the blow of the disaster, the Jewish Autonomous Region and the Khabarovsk Territory.

Late summer 2013 A powerful flood hit the Far East, which led to the largest flooding in the last 115 years. The flood affected five regions of the Far Eastern Federal District, the total area of ​​flooded areas amounted to more than 8 million square kilometers. In total, since the beginning of the flood, 37 municipal districts, 235 settlements and more than 13 thousand residential buildings have been flooded. Over 100 thousand people were affected. More than 23 thousand people were evacuated. The most affected were the Amur Region, which was the first to receive the blow of the disaster, 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. Energy, gas and water supply systems, road and rail traffic were disrupted. According to the prosecutor's office, 168 people were killed and two more were missing. Most of the dead were in Krymsk, which received the heaviest impact of the disaster. In this city, 153 people died, more than 60 thousand people were considered injured. 1.69 thousand houses in the Crimean region were recognized as completely destroyed. About 6.1 thousand houses were damaged. Damage from the flood amounted to about 20 billion rubles.

In April 2004 In the Kemerovo region, a flood occurred 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 died. 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 disaster also disrupted telephone communications.
The damage, according to experts, amounted to 700-750 million rubles.

In August 2002 A fast-moving tornado and heavy rains occurred in the Krasnodar region. In Novorossiysk, Anapa, Krymsk and 15 other settlements in the region, over 7 thousand residential buildings and administrative buildings fell into the flood zone. The disaster also damaged 83 housing and communal services facilities, 20 bridges, 87.5 kilometers of roads, 45 water intakes and 19 transformer substations. 424 residential buildings were completely destroyed. 59 people died. The forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations evacuated 2.37 thousand people from dangerous zones.

In June 2002 Nine regions of the Southern Federal District suffered catastrophic flooding as a result of heavy 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 injured another 335 thousand people. Specialists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations and other ministries and departments saved a total of 62 thousand people, and over 106 thousand residents of the Southern Federal District were evacuated from dangerous zones. 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 (63 settlements in total). Sayansk suffered especially. 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 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 Lensk off the face of the earth. More than 3.3 thousand houses were destroyed, 30.8 thousand people were injured. In total, 59 settlements in Yakutia were damaged as a result of the flood, and 5.2 thousand residential buildings were flooded. The total damage amounted to 7.08 billion rubles, including 6.2 billion rubles in the city of Lensk.

May 16 and 17, 1998 There was a severe flood in the area of ​​the city of Lensk in Yakutia. It was caused by an ice jam along the lower reaches of the Lena River, as a result of which the water level increased to 17 meters, with a critical flood level of the city of Lensk of 13.5 meters. More than 172 settlements with a population of 475 thousand people were in the flood zone. More than 50 thousand people were evacuated from the flood zone. The flood killed 15 people. Damage from the flood amounted to 872.5 million rubles.