Archive · 1 Sep 2026
Global Disasters Displace Millions as Floods Drive Human Crisis
Floods and other disasters can quickly turn into major human emergencies.
In Nepal, floodwaters damaged roads and power facilities, making it difficult for rescuers to reach some places.
People are searching for missing relatives and trying to get food and water to isolated families.
Similar disasters affected millions of people in Pakistan, the Philippines, Nigeria and elsewhere.
Floods were reported more often than earthquakes, droughts or wildfires in every year from 2017 to 2025.
Disasters forced 29.9 million people to move inside their own countries in 2025.
Floods can also destroy homes, roads and jobs even when people are not killed.
The disasters caused billions of dollars in damage, with floods producing $75.8 billion in losses in 2021.
Nepal’s floods have damaged roads and hydropower infrastructure, complicating rescue efforts.
On the Chinese side of the Himalayas, 16 deaths and 546 missing people were reported.
Pakistan’s 2025 floods killed more than 1,000 people and affected 6.9 million.
Floods were the most frequently reported disaster type each year from 2017 through 2025.
Disasters internally displaced 29.9 million people in 2025, while floods caused $75.8 billion in damage in 2021.
- Who
- People affected by floods, storms and other disasters, including residents of Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nigeria and the Chinese side of the Himalayas.
- What
- Floods and other extreme-weather disasters caused deaths, missing people, displacement, infrastructure damage and major economic losses worldwide.
- When
- The Nepal disaster is described as current; the global data covers 2016 through 2025, including 29.9 million disaster displacements in 2025.
- Where
- Nepal, the Chinese side of the Himalayas, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nigeria and other locations worldwide.
- Why
- Floodwaters and other hazards damaged homes, roads, infrastructure and livelihoods, forcing people to move and creating prolonged rescue and relief operations.
- Global displacement in 2025
- Disasters internally displaced 29.9 million people.
- Most frequently reported disaster
- Floods led the five tracked disaster types in reported events every year from 2017 through 2025.
- Peak flood events
- There were 222 reported floods in 2021 and 119 in 2025.
- Nepal and Himalayas impact
- Flooding damaged roads and hydropower infrastructure in Nepal; 16 deaths and 546 missing people were reported on the Chinese side of the Himalayas.
- Pakistan impact
- Floods in 2025 killed more than 1,000 people and affected 6.9 million.
- Largest annual flood damage
- Floods caused an estimated $75.8 billion in damage in 2021.
- Other reported impacts
- Philippine storms affected more than 30 million people, while flooding in Mokwa, Nigeria, killed at least 500 and left 600 missing and presumed dead.