List of flash floods

This list of notable flash floods summarizes the most widely reported events.

Date	Fatalities	Cause	Description
March 11, 1864	240	dam failure	Great Sheffield Flood, Sheffield, England
May 31, 1889	2200	dam failure	Johnstown Flood Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
June 14, 1903	247	thunderstorm	Heppner Flood of 1903, Oregon, U.S. Second deadliest flash flood in the United States; killed almost a quarter of the town's residents.
July 11, 1912	8	thunderstorm	Mazuma, Nevada Postmistress among the dead. Relief efforts included a fund set up by William Randolph Hearst.
January 15, 1919	21	dam failure	Great Molasses Flood, Boston, U.S. A 8-to-15-foot (2.4 to 4.6 m) wall of molasses from a collapsed distillation storage tank moved through the streets at 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) killing 21, injuring 150
February 19, 1938	21	thunderstorm	Kopuawhara flash flood of 1938, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: a temporary camp for rail workers next to a river was hit by a 5-metre (16 ft) high wall of water[1] already swollen by heavy rain associated with Typhoon Haikui.[2]
August 15, 1952	34	heavy rain	Lynmouth Flood, England
January 31, 1953	2394	heavy storm	North Sea flood of 1953, The Netherlands, Belgium, England, Scotland, a combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm over the North Sea caused a storm tide. As a result, the Dutch Delta Works were authorized, an elaborate project to enable emergency closing of the mouths of most estuaries, to prevent flood surges upriver.
June 17, 1965	0	heavy rain	1965 Philmont Scout Ranch flash flood, Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico
November 25, 1967	464	heavy rain	115 to 129 millimetres (4.5 to 5.1 in) rain in 5 hours at up to 30 millimetres (1.2 in) per hour near Lisbon, Portugal[3]
January 4, 1971	32	monsoon	Kuala Lumpur floods, Malaysia
June 9, 1972	238	dam failure	Black Hills flood, South Dakota, U.S. 15 inches (38 cm) in 6 hours
July 31, 1976	143	thunderstorm	Big Thompson River flood, Colorado, U.S.
August 11, 1979	1800–25,000	dam failure	Machchu-2 dam failed due to heavy upstream rain, washed out the town of Morbi and nearby villages of Gujarat, India. Estimated deaths ranged from 1800 to 25,000 people. Considered worst flash flood of history.
July 24, 1982	299	heavy rain	maximum 187 millimetres (7.4 in) rainfall per an hour in Nagayo, Nagasaki, Floods, landslides, and bridge, house, buildings collapses occur simultaneously in the suburbs of Nagasaki, Kyushu Island, Japan[4]
November 19, 1983	10	heavy rain	maximum rate of 24 millimetres (0.94 in) in 30 minutes near Lisbon, Portugal with similar intensity of 1967 event; much lower fatalities due to lessons learned[3]
June 14, 1990	26	heavy rain	Shadyside, Ohio, U.S.[5]
June 16, 1990	4	thunderstorm	Duck Creek Floods of 1990 near Davenport, Iowa, U.S.[6]
August 12, 1997	11	thunderstorm	Antelope Canyon, Arizona, U.S.
July 20, 1998	63	heavy rain	Jarovnice, Slovakia Combination of heavy rain by three clouds sitted on each other and collapse of dam formed by debris caused flood wave inundate the unprotected Romani settlement
October 18, 1998	31	heavy rain	San Marcos, Texas, U.S. rains totaling from 15 to 30 inches (380 to 760 mm)[7]
August 30, 2003	6	heavy rain	Jacobs Creek Flood, Kansas Turnpike near Emporia, Kansas, U.S.
August 16, 2004	0	heavy rain	Boscastle flood, Cornwall, England
August 6, 2006	350	heavy rain	eastern Ethiopia, tens of thousands displaced[8][9]
August 13, 2006	125	heavy rain	southern Ethiopia, hundreds of thousands displaced[8]
July 3, 2007	64		Sudan floods
November 2, 2007	0	heavy rain	Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, U.S.[10]
June 12, 2008	0	thunderstorm	The June 12–13, 2008 floods around Duck Creek in Davenport, Iowa, U.S.[11]
August 4, 2009	0	thunderstorm	The 2009 Kentuckiana Flash Flood resulted from 3 to 6 inches (76 to 152 mm) of rain falling in less than an hour near Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
September 9, 2009	31	heavy rain	Turkish flash floods.
September 19, 2009	10	heavy rain	2009 Southeastern United States floods included flash flooding around Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[12]
September 26, 2009	100	tropical storm	Metro Manila primarily Marikina city, Taguig City, and Pasig City; and many municipalities of the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan and Laguna taking more than a hundred lives and leaving thousands of affected residents homeless. It also submerged several municipalities under feet deep of water for several weeks. It was caused by Typhoon Ketsana.
October 1, 2009	37	heavy rain	Giampilieri, Messina, Sicily. See Also 2009 Messina floods and mudslides
October 10, 2009			October 10–13 in Northern Luzon causing major landslides in the Cordillera Mountains (Philippines), and submerging 80% of the Province of Pangasinan.
October 2009	0	heavy rain	In late October, a rainy nor'easter caused several flash floods in Southeast Virginia (U.S.) and injured over 100 people.
November 25, 2009	100		more than 100 people died in flash floods that swept away highways and neighborhoods in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which was caused by heavy rains.[13]
February 20, 2010	42	heavy rain	2010 Madeira floods and mudslides: 108 to 165 millimetres (4.3 to 6.5 in) of rain fell in 5 hours, much more than the monthly February average of 88 millimetres (3.5 in). At least 42 people died, at least 100 injured, and at least eight people went missing.
April 2010			April–May: The great Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., flood. Water in the Cumberland river rose, flooding downtown Nashville and surrounding areas.
June 11, 2010	20	heavy rain	The Little Missouri River rose over 20 feet in only a few hours, 2010 Arkansas floods
July 24, 2010	0	dam failure	Delhi Dam on Iowa's Maquoketa River breached after 9 inches (230 mm) of rainfall. 8,000 people evacuated and 15 ft. chunks of highway broke off and swept down river. Contributed to flooding the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa.
July 2010	1400	monsoon	Mid–July till Mid-August, Pakistan's three provinces were badly affected during the monsoon rains when dams, rivers and lakes overflowed killing at least 1400 people and affecting 3.5 million people.
August 6, 2010	180	cloud burst	Leh, India. More than 180 people are reported to have died with 400 missing and 300 injured due to flash floods, caused probably due to cloud burst. Injured and stranded public have been airlifted by Indian army.[14]
October 4, 2010	7	chemical plant accident	flood caused by the Ajka alumina plant accident in western Hungary[15] A dam wall collapsed, freeing about one million cubic metres (35 million cubic feet) of highly alkaline liquid waste, called red mud, from the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina plant in Ajka,[16][17] Veszprém County. The mud was released as a 1–2 m (3–7 ft) wave, flooding several nearby localities, including the village of Kolontár and the town of Devecser. The flood killed seven persons and the high pH (~13) of the sludge burned several hundred people and devastated more than 40 km^2 of ground in the basin of the Danube river.
October 18, 2010	0	heavy rain	St. Lucia, West Indies:[18] The flood displaced about 500 people and received immediate assistance from local government and international organizations. No fatalities or injuries were reported.[19]
July 27, 2011-July 28, 2011	1	heavy rain	Dubuque County, Iowa – Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States.[20]
January 11, 2011	35	heavy rain	2010–2011 Queensland floods, Australia[21]
July 7, 2012	172	heavy rain	2012 Russian floods Krasnodarsky krai, Russia[22]
August 7, 2012	89	monsoon	2012 Philippine floods Monsoon enhanced by Typhoon Haikui brought torrential rain and floods to Metro Manila and nearby provinces[23]
April 1, 2013	101	rain storm	2013 Argentina floods For five hours there was extremely heavy rainfall on northeastern section of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, resulting in several flash floods that claimed the lives of at least 101 people. Greater La Plata was hardest hit with 91 reported deaths, and Greater Buenos Aires reported ten deaths. Is the worst flooding in La Plata's history.[24]
November 17, 2013	18	heavy rain	Cyclone Cleopatra, Northeast Sardinia. See Also 2013 Sardinia floods
April 29, 2014-April 30, 2014	2+	heavy rain	Alabama, Florida
June 7, 2014	73	rain storm	2014 Baghlan floods High rainfall contributed to the flash flood which destroyed hundreds of mud homes.[25]
June 27, 2015	1	heavy rain	2015 Philmont Scout Ranch flash flood, Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico
July 7, 2015	0	heavy rain	2015 Ghost Ranch flash flood, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico
September 14, 2015	16+	rain storms	2015 Utah floods Sudden downpours caused flash flooding of canyons in Hildale, Utah and Zion National Park, killing at least 16 and possibly 20 people.[26]
October 25, 2015	17+	rain storms	Alexandria and Nile Delta region of Northern Egypt. Strong rains on October 25 and November 4 caused flash flooding and resulted in the deaths of at least 17 people, including five electrocuted when a tram power line collapsed into a puddle.[27]
November 5, 2015	3	rain storms	Flash flooding occurred in the Jordanian capital Amman causing 3 deaths when a severe thunderstorm lasted over 30 minutes.
November 15, 2017	24	heavy rain	2017 West Attica floods Flash floods occurred in the towns of Mandra, Nea Peramos and Megara, towards west of Athens, due to heavy rain. 24 people were killed due to this disaster along with significant damage to property.[28]
April 26, 2018	10	heavy rain	Heavy rainfall in the Negev desert caused a flash flood in the Tzafit canyon trapping a group of hikers and resulting in 10 fatalities [29]
May 27, 2018	1	heavy rain	Heavy rainfall, around 8 inches (20 cm) in 2 hours caused significant flash flooding in Elliccott City, Maryland. This is the second 1000-year flood event in 2 years.
July 4, 2018	0	heavy rain	Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in Houston and the surrounding area, causing the cancellation of 4th of July festivities.[30]
July 5, 2018	0	heavy rain	Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in Canton and other parts of Stark County.[31]
August 21, 2018	11	heavy rain	A flash flood in a gorge in the southern Italian region of Calabria has killed 11 hikers.[32]
October 25, 2019	10	heavy rain	Heavy rainfall, total 60 to 120 millimetres (2.4 to 4.7 in) per an hour, and 160 to 280 millimetres (6.3 to 11.0 in) on twelve hours precipitation, and resulting to flash flooding, landslide around Boso Peninsula. Chiba Prefecture. Japan.[33]

See also

• List of deadliest floods
• List of major dam failures

References

1. "19 February". Today in History. New Zealand History. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
2. "Floods: Kopuawhara". New Zealand Disasters. Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
3. Clifford Embleton; Christine Embleton-Hamann (1997). Geomorphological hazards of Europe. p. 404. ISBN 978-0-444-88824-2.
4. ja:長崎大水害 (Japanese language edition) Retrieved date on 10 October, 2019
5. Shadyside, Ohio Floods of 1990 (Report). NOAA. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
6. "Flood Facts". QC Memory. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
7. "Floods in the Guadalupe and San Antonio River Basins in Texas, October 1998". USGS. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
8. "Flash floods kill 125 in Ethiopia". BBC. 2006-08-14. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
9. "Ethiopia Hit by Flooding in North, South and East". Worldwatch Institute. 2006-08-14. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
10. "November 2006 Flooding". NPS. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
11. "Duck Creek Flooding Closes Davenport Streets". Quad Cities Online. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
12. "Southeast United States Floods, September 18–23, 2009" (PDF). U.S. National Weather Service. May 2010. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
13. Arab News, Jeddah flood toll 106 (Report). SRPC. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
14. Cloudburst In The Leh WorldSnap
15. "Red mud spill in Veszprém County". www.index.hu. 5 October 2010.
16. "Hungary threatened by 'ecological catastrophe' as toxic sludge escapes factory". Telegraph (UK). 5 October 2010.
17. "Red sludge floods towns in Hungary". Associated Press. 4 October 2010. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
18. "Red Cross responds to St Lucia floods". Caribbean 360. October 18, 2010.
19. "DREF operation final report" (PDF). International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
20. Historic Heavy Rain and Flash Flooding in Dubuque and Jo Daviess Counties 07/27-07/28/2011
21. "Toowoomba swamped by deadly 'inland tsunami'". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. January 11, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
22. "Russia floods: Putin orders inquiry over mass deaths". British Broadcasting Corporation. July 8, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
23. "Monsoon enhanced by 'Haikui' to continue bringing heavy rain to NCR, 12 other areas". GMA News Network. August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
24. "Deadly rains flood capital, Greater [Buenos Aires]". Buenos Aires Herald. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
25. "Afghanistan flash flood kills dozens in Baghlan province". BBC. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
26. Reavy, Pat (16 September 2015). "16, possibly 20 die in devastating southern Utah flash floods". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
27. Severe flash flooding hits Egypt, at least 17 dead
28. "Toll from Greek floods rises to 23 as 2 new deaths reported". ABC News. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
29. "9 YOUTH DEAD IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL FLASH FLOODS". Retrieved 2018-04-26.
30. Calfas, Jennifer (4 July 2018). "Flash Floods Rain Out Fourth of July Festivities in Houston". TIME. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
31. Tipton, Stephen (6 July 2018). "Cameras capture the downpour that drenched Stark County late Thursday". Canton Rep. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
32. Italy: At least 11 killed by flash flood in Calabria gorge
33. ja:千葉県豪雨 (Japanese language edition) Retrieved date on 31 October, 2019.