| Floods can of course be caused by a multitude of | | | | recent years the Chinese government have tried to |
| reasons, but because of mankind's dependence on | | | | dam the river to prevent future catastrophes but the |
| water and our historical need to build our towns and | | | | damming has proved controversial and is not entirely |
| cities nears rivers, it makes us extremely vulnerable to | | | | the most effective flood defence measure. |
| flooding. | | | | Bangladesh 1998 |
| Whilst floods in the UK and across developed nations | | | | Nearly two thirds of the entire country was flooded |
| can be costly; causing untold damage and can result in | | | | after torrential rains in 1998. Whilst only a thousand |
| the loss of businesses and homes; flooding in the | | | | people lost their lives, the floods affected nearly 30 |
| West very rarely causes mass loss of life. | | | | million people and the topography of Bangladesh |
| However, in some parts of the world, flooding can be | | | | means that the risk of it happening again is ever |
| catastrophic, and when they hit they can cause the | | | | present and little can be done to defend from flooding |
| deaths of hundreds and thousands of people. | | | | in the future. |
| Some of the worst floods in history have happened in | | | | |
| these parts of the world, and while in the UK, the | | | | Caracas, Venezuela 1999 |
| worst ever recorded flooding happened at the end of | | | | At least 10,000 people lost their lives when torrential |
| the eleventh century – when the Thames flood | | | | rain caused mass flooding across the nation and |
| killing thousands of medieval Englanders – across | | | | hundreds of thousands where left homeless. |
| the globe severe floods still cause catastrophic loss of | | | | |
| life. | | | | Floods in Bagladesh -Picture Raiyan Kamal |
| Here are some of the worst floods of the last century: | | | | Despite grand flood defence schemes and |
| Huang He (Yellow) River, China 1931 | | | | revolutionary flood defence measures like instant |
| China's rivers have been responsible for some of the | | | | sandbags, flooding is still one of the most dangerous |
| worst flooding in history. In 1931 the Huang He burst its | | | | natural disasters that can affect mankind. |
| banks leaving between 1-3 million people dead. In | | | | |