This list of notable flash floods summarizes the most widely reported events.
| Date | Fatalities | Cause | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 240 | dam failure | Great Sheffield Flood, Sheffield, England | ||
| 2200 | dam failure | Johnstown Flood Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||
| 359 | heavy rain | Consuegra, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain | ||
| 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. | ||
| 8 | thunderstorm | Mazuma, Nevada, Postmistress among the dead. Relief efforts included a fund set up by William Randolph Hearst. | ||
| 21 | dam failure | Great Molasses Flood, Boston, U.S. A 8to wall of molasses from a collapsed distillation storage tank moved through the streets at 35mph killing 21, injuring 150 | ||
| 1 | heavy rain | 1929 New Zealand cyclone, Otago and Canterbury, New Zealand. Flooding in many parts of the South Island, especially around the city of Dunedin, where 139mm of rain fell in 24 hours. A railway worker died in a washout on the line between Dunedin and Ranfurly | ||
| 21 | thunderstorm | Kopuawhara flash flood of 1938, Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand: a temporary camp for rail workers next to a river was hit by a 5m (16feet) high wall of water[1] already swollen by heavy rain associated with Typhoon Haikui.[2] | ||
| 34 | heavy rain | Lynmouth Flood, England | ||
| 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. | ||
| 0 | heavy rain | 1965 Philmont Scout Ranch flash flood, Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico | ||
| 464 | heavy rain | 115mm129mm rain in 5 hours at up to 30mm per hour near Lisbon, Portugal[3] | ||
| 32 | monsoon | Kuala Lumpur floods, Malaysia | ||
| 238 | dam failure | Black Hills flood, South Dakota, U.S., 15inches in 6 hours | ||
| 143 | thunderstorm | Big Thompson River flood, Colorado, U.S. | ||
| 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. | ||
| 299 | heavy rain | maximum 187mm 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] | ||
| 10 | heavy rain | maximum rate of 24mm in 30 minutes near Lisbon, Portugal, with similar intensity of 1967 event; much lower fatalities due to lessons learned | ||
| 26 | heavy rain | Shadyside, Ohio, U.S.[5] | ||
| 4 | thunderstorm | Duck Creek Floods of 1990 near Davenport, Iowa, U.S.[6] | ||
| 11 | thunderstorm | Antelope Canyon, Arizona, U.S. | ||
| 63 | heavy rain | Jarovnice, Slovakia. Combination of heavy rain and collapse of dam formed by debris caused flood wave inundated the unprotected Romani settlement. | ||
| 31 | heavy rain | San Marcos, Texas, U.S., rains totaling from 15inchesto30inchesin (toin)[7] | ||
| 10 | heavy rain | According to Japan Meteorological Agency official confirmed report, a 100mm to 114mm principation per a single hour, total 428mm to 492mm principation per twelve hours, following flash flooded in Nagoya and surrounding area, another 150 persons were wounded, Japanese government official confirmed report.[8] | ||
| 6 | heavy rain | Jacobs Creek Flood, Kansas Turnpike near Emporia, Kansas, U.S. | ||
| 0 | heavy rain | Boscastle flood, Cornwall, England | ||
| 350 | heavy rain | eastern Ethiopia, tens of thousands displaced[9] | ||
| 125 | heavy rain | southern Ethiopia, hundreds of thousands displaced[10] | ||
| 64 | Sudan floods | |||
| 0 | heavy rain | Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, U.S.[11] | ||
| 0 | thunderstorm | The 12–13 June 2008 floods around Duck Creek in Davenport, Iowa, U.S.[12] | ||
| 0 | thunderstorm | The 2009 Kentuckiana Flash Flood resulted from 3inchesto6inchesin (toin) of rain falling in less than an hour near Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | ||
| 31 | heavy rain | Turkish flash floods. | ||
| 10 | heavy rain | 2009 Southeastern United States floods included flash flooding around Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[13] | ||
| 100 | tropical storm | Metro Manila, primarily Marikina, Taguig, and Pasig; and several municipalities in 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. | ||
| 37 | heavy rain | Giampilieri, Messina, Sicily. See Also 2009 Messina floods and mudslides | ||
| 10–13 October in Northern Luzon causing major landslides in the Cordillera Mountains (Philippines), and submerging 80% of the province of Pangasinan. | ||||
| 0 | heavy rain | In late October, a rainy nor'easter caused several flash floods in Southeast Virginia (U.S.) and injured over 100 people. | ||
| 122 | heavy rain | More than 122 people died in flash floods that swept away highways and neighborhoods in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which was caused by heavy rains.[14] | ||
| 42 | heavy rain | 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides 108mm165mm of rain fell in 5 hours, much more than the monthly February average of 88mm. 51 people died, 250 were injured, and at least eight people went missing. | ||
| April–May: The great Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., flood. Water in the Cumberland river rose, flooding downtown Nashville and surrounding areas. | ||||
| 20 | heavy rain | The Little Missouri River rose over 20 feet in only a few hours, 2010 Arkansas floods | ||
| 0 | dam failure | Delhi Dam on Iowa's Maquoketa River breached after 9inches 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. | ||
| 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. | ||
| 180 | cloud burst | Leh, India. More than 180 people were 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.[15] | ||
| 7 | chemical plant accident | flood caused by the Ajka alumina plant accident in western Hungary[16] 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,[17] [18] Veszprém County. The mud was released as a 1- 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 km2 of ground in the basin of the Danube river. | ||
| 0 | heavy rain | St. Lucia, West Indies:[19] The flood displaced about 500 people and received immediate assistance from local government and international organizations. No fatalities or injuries were reported.[20] | ||
| – | 1 | heavy rain | Dubuque County, Iowa – Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States.[21] | |
| 35 | heavy rain | 2010–2011 Queensland floods, Australia[22] | ||
| 172 | heavy rain | 2012 Russian floods Krasnodarsky krai, Russia[23] | ||
| 89 | monsoon | 2012 Philippine floods Monsoon enhanced by Typhoon Haikui brought torrential rain and floods to Metro Manila and nearby provinces[24] | ||
| 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.[25] | ||
| 18 | heavy rain | Cyclone Cleopatra, Northeast Sardinia. See Also 2013 Sardinia floods | ||
| – | 2+ | heavy rain | Alabama, Florida | |
| 73 | rain storm | 2014 Baghlan floods High rainfall contributed to the flash flood which destroyed hundreds of mud homes.[26] | ||
| 1 | heavy rain | 2015 Philmont Scout Ranch flash flood, Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico | ||
| 0 | heavy rain | 2015 Ghost Ranch flash flood, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico | ||
| 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.[27] | ||
| 17+ | rain storms | Alexandria and Nile Delta region of Northern Egypt. Strong rains on 25 October and 4 November 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.[28] | ||
| 3 | rain storms | Flash flooding occurred in the Jordanian capital Amman causing 3 deaths when a severe thunderstorm lasted over 30 minutes. | ||
| 2 | heavy rain | 2016 Maryland flood – A historic and deadly flash flood struck Ellicott City, Maryland due an estimated 6inches of rain falling in the city within only two hours. It was said to have been a "1000-year flood" event by the NWS. | ||
| 10 | heavy rain, wildfire burn scar | 2017 Payson flash floods A flash flood occurred at a popular swimming hole near Payson, Arizona, the flood killed 10 members of an extended family. | ||
| 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.[29] | ||
| 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.[30] | ||
| 1 | heavy rain | 2018 Maryland flood Just two years after a historic and deadly flash flood struck the region, another heavy rain bought around 8inches in two hours to Elliccott City, Maryland, resulting in a disastrous that was assessed to be much worse than the previous one. This was the second "1000-year flood" event in two years. | ||
| 0 | heavy rain | Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in Houston, Texas, and the surrounding area, causing the cancellation of 4 July festivities.[31] | ||
| 0 | heavy rain | Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in Canton, Ohio, and other parts of Stark County.[32] | ||
| 11 | heavy rain | A flash flood in a gorge in the southern Italian region of Calabria killed 11 hikers.[33] | ||
| 10 | heavy rain | Heavy rainfall, total NaNmm per an hour, and NaNmm on twelve hours precipitation, and resulting to flash flooding, landslide around Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.[34] | ||
| 302 (50 missing) | heavy rain | According to China Meteorological Administration official confirmed report, a heavy rain 617.1mm past three days by 20 July, including 201.9mm, per a single hour in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. According to Chinese government official confirmed report, flood swept and many persons and vehicles struck in downtown area, and part section of Zhengzhou Subway Line 5 also damaged, and flash flooding hit neighborhooud Kaifeng, Luohe, Xinxiang, total government and economic damaged on 90.98 billion renminbi (14.08 billion US dollars). | ||
| 21 (4 missing) | heavy rain | According to China Meteorological Administration official confirmed report, a heavy rain 459mm to 519mm past 18 hours by 12 August in Suizhou, Yicheng, Liulin, Hubei Province, China. including 117.9mm, per a single hour in Liulin. According to Chinese government official confirmed report, flood swept and many persons and vehicles struck in widely area. | ||
| 0 | heavy rain | In Gävle, Sweden, 161.6 mm of rain was measured by an automatic weather station during a period of 24 hours within the area, 101 mm of which fell in just 2 hours[35] resulting in considerable flooding within multiple counties, including Gävleborg County & Dalarnas county. Entire neighborhoods were flooded, landslides occurred & vehicles were submerged into the waters[36] [37] [38] [39] [40] | ||
| 24 July – 1 August 2022 | 40 | heavy rain | July–August 2022 United States floods. From July 26 to August 1, 2022, severe rainfall fell on areas of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Two deaths were reported in Greater St. Louis after 10 inches of rain on July 26. In Eastern Kentucky, up to 10.4 in of rain caused rivers to rise by up to 15 feet in a few hours, resulting in 38 deaths. The storms caused $1.2 billion in damage in Kentucky and Missouri.[41] | |
| – | 1 (0 missing) | heavy rain | 2022 Dallas floods | |
| 1 (0 missing) | heavy rain | 12.86mm was reported in a span of 5 hours in July 26, 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri. | ||
| 4 | heavy rain | 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods. NIWA reports a record breaking 260.6 millimeters (10 in) fell across the city of Auckland, New Zealand in a span of 8 hours, landslides have destroyed homes, over $10 million worth of high-end luxury vehicles severely damaged.[42] [43] [44] [45] | ||
| 12 – 13 April 2023 | 0 | heavy rain | 2023 Fort Lauderdale floods. On April 12, 2023, a historic flash flood event occurred in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and surrounding areas. The Fort Lauderdale area reported 25.6 inches (65 cm) of rain within approximately 12 hours[46] | |
| 21 – 22 July 2023 | 3 (1 missing) | heavy rain | 2023 Nova Scotia floods | |
| October 2024 | 217+ | heavy rain | 2024 Spain floods |