People in Harm's Way: Flood Exposure and Poverty in 189 Countries

Abstract

Flooding is among the most prevalent
\n natural hazards affecting people around the world. This
\n study provides a global estimate of the number of people who
\n face the risk of intense fluvial, pluvial, or coastal
\n flooding. The findings suggest that 1.47 billion people, or
\n 19 percent of the world population, are directly exposed to
\n substantial risks during 1-in-100 year flood events. The
\n majority of flood exposed people, about 1.36 billion, are
\n located in South and East Asia; China (329 million) and
\n India (225 million) account for over a third of global
\n exposure. Of the 1.47 billion people who are exposed to
\n flood risk, 89 percent live in low- and middle-income
\n countries. Of the 132 million people who are estimated to
\n live in both extreme poverty (under $1.9 per day) and in
\n high flood risk areas, 55 percent are in Sub-Saharan Africa.
\n About 587 million people face high flood risk, while living
\n on less than $5.5 per day. These findings are based on
\n high-resolution flood hazard and population maps that enable
\n global coverage, as well as poverty estimates from the World
\n Bank's Global Monitoring Database of harmonized
\n household surveys.

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