Flood Fatalities

The information provided below documents flood fatalities since 1903.  In the earlier years, it appears that not all isolated fatalities were accounted for due to more limited communications capabilities.  The early years do reflect fatalities associated with major floods and some more isolated fatalities.   Some issues included in a discussion on limitations in the estimation of flood damages also applies to the data in this page.

Expanded information is provided  for more recent deaths (indicated by shaded cells in the table below). The purpose for providing details of individual flood fatalities is intended to be educational.  Many flood fatalities could be prevented if different decisions were made.  More than half of all flood fatalities are vehicle-related - all vehicle-related fatalities are shown in red.  In many cases, victims literally drive into harms way.  Hopefully, an examination of the circumstances associated with the flood deaths listed below can serve as a learning opportunity.

Note: more recent  information should be considered preliminary and all estimates are subject to change.

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Last Modified: December 17, 2002