Nature, Socioeconomics and Flood Mortality

Proceedings of the 2011 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 11, 12, and 13, 2011, Athens, Georgia.We analyze mortality caused by 2,194 large flood events between 1985 and 2008 in 108 countries. Unlike previous studies that looked at natural disaster mortality, we find that year-to-year changes in income and institutional determinants of vulnerability do not affect flood mortality directly. Income and institutions influence mortality only indirectly, through their impact on the intensity and frequency of floods. Population exposure affects the number of deaths both directly and indirectly. Higher population exposure results in more deaths once the flood has occurred, but it is associated with smaller floods.Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources FacultyThis book was published by Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2152. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Research Institutes Authorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-307) or the other conference sponsors