In the wake of a devastating summer of floods in different corners of the globe, researchers have found the number of people who are at high risk of this extreme natural calamity has increased significantly in the last 20 years, BBC reported Thursday.
Latest findings show the percentage of the world's population vulnerable to flooding has climbed by nearly 25% since last year.
The increase in risk factor, based on satellite imagery, is far greater compared to what been projected by computer simulations, the report said.
Computer modeling indicates that migration and an increasing number of flood events are responsible for the rapid increase. Satellite data show an additional 86 million now inhabit flood-prone areas.
Deadly floods, such as recently in China, Germany, India and Belgium cause billions of dollars in destruction, disproportionally impacting poorer sectors of governments.
Climate change estimates indicate that by 2030 the proportion of people at risk to natural disasters like floods will expand further.
The researchers predict that 57 nations - including parts of central Asia, North America, and central Africa - will experience a substantial rise in the percentage of their populations that experience inundations.
In Germany, extreme floods killed at least 172 people.
In Nigeria, Lagos Island experienced one of its deadliest flooding in recent years, submerging houses and vehicles.
Earlier this week, officials announced the number of fatalities from China's July deluge had soared to 301 -- more than thrice the previous projection.
One of the major challenges with floods, according to scientists, is that most of the current maps of where the waters will likely penetrate are based on ground level observations.
To fill in those gaps, a team of U.S.-based scientists analyzed satellite-based information from imaging of more than 900 individual flooding in almost 170 nations since 2000 -- which translates to approximately 20% increment in the population vulnerable to floods.
Documenting the study in the journal Nature, the researchers discovered that up to 86 million people, forced by economic necessity, moved into flood-prone regions between 2000 and 2015.
According to the study, low-income communities are typically the most vulnerable, since they tend to have very little options but to relocate in less-favorable areas that are prone to calamities.
