What are the origins of this fun-filled festive custom?
In July 2021, western Germany, regions in Belgium, and other parts of Europe experienced some of the worst flooding in living memory, as exceptionally heavy rainfall caused rivers to burst their banks, devastating towns, villages, and cities.
The Great Mississippi Flood of April 1927 is one of the worst and most destructive river floods in the history of the United States. An estimated 1,000 people perished in the disaster. Floodwaters did not fully drain until the end of the summer.
The Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood of May 1889 occurred after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam. Heavy rainfall had swelled a reservoir to the point where it breached the dam, sending a huge volume of water barreling down the Little Conemaugh River. Over 2,000 people were killed.
An estimated two million people lost their lives and another 25 million were displaced after a series of devastating floods inundated vast areas of central China in the summer of 1931.
A heavy storm on the night of November 18, 1421 near the North Sea was powerful enough to cause the dikes of the Grote Hollandse Waard, an area in what is now the Netherlands, to fail flooding towns and villages and take the lives of up to 10,000 residents.
The Grote Mandrenke of 1362, also known as the Saint Marcellus's flood, was one of the most catastrophic floods ever to hit Europe. Anywhere between 25,000 to 100,000 people drowned, with England, Denmark, Germany, and Holland all affected.
When an earthquake triggered a huge landslide on the slopes of Nanga Parbat, a Himalayan peak located in what is now Pakistan, it heralded a chain of events that led to the unleashing of a colossal wave that submerged vast tracts of the Indus Valley. The casualties from the disaster are not recorded, but among the victims were an entire 300-man Sikh army.
The 1966 flooding of the Arno River, which flows through Florence, sent a wall of mud and sludge crashing into homes, businesses, and several libraries and art galleries containing rare and priceless Renaissance relics. The flood struck a devastating blow to Italy's cultural treasures. Pictured is the Basilica di Santa Croce after the flood.
In 1607, a rare tsunami hit the English town of Burnham-on-Sea and the Bristol Channel. The resulting floodwaters claimed 2,000 lives in what remains one of Britain's worst natural disasters.
When the Seine River burst its banks on January 18, 1910, half of Paris ended up submerged. Floodwaters peaked at 8.62 (28.28 ft). Remarkably, despite the damage and duration of the flood, no deaths were reported.
The city streets and avenues of Cincinnati became rivers after the Ohio River burst its banks in January 1884. Snowfall and heavy rain had swollen the river to a record 21.67 m (71.1 ft). Thousands of homes and businesses were covered by water, but only 10 deaths were recorded.
Vargas state in Venezuela was the scene of tragedy when torrential rains in December 1999 caused flash floods and debris flows that killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed thousands of homes.
The worst flooding in over a century inundated the Czech capital in August 2002. An estimated 40,000 people were evacuated from the city. Besides the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia, as well as parts of Russia were affected by over a week of continuous heavy rains.
The Victoria floods of September 2010 resulted in the widespread evacuation of thousands of homeowners across the state of Victoria, Australia. The flooding, fueled by heavy winds and rains, was the worst seen in over a decade and caused millions of dollars' worth of damage.
The monsoon rains of September 2014 devastated northern Pakistan and the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir. More than 450 deaths were reported in what was described as "historic" flood levels.
The disastrous flood that occurred when the River Thames poured over London's Thames and Chelsea Embankments resulted in several deaths and the inundation of slum dwelling plus some of the capital's finest buildings, including the Houses of Parliament, Tate Gallery, and the Tower of London. Thousands were left homeless.
Venice, and St. Mark's Square in particular, is used to spells of flooding. But in December 1933, a powerful cloudburst sent the area's sea levels rising 1.3 m (4 ft) higher than usual and the city's canals spilled over. A few days later, heavy snowfall caused icebergs to gather on top of the newly formed lake!
On August 15, 1952, following 24 hours of continual rainfall, a massive surge of floodwater careered down a narrow valley floor from Exmoor and slammed into the village of Lynmouth in Devon. Thirty-four people lost their lives in the disaster.
The notorious North Sea flood of February 1953 led to a dreadful loss of life after a storm surge struck the Netherlands, northwest Belgium, England, and Scotland. Around 2,550 people lost their lives both on land and at sea, with 1,800 alone perishing in the lowlands. An estimated 30,000 animals also died in the floodwaters.
The catastrophic September 1962 flash flood in the Rubí stream sent a torrent of water bulldozing through a Barcelona suburb resulting in at least 800 deaths. Thousands more were injured in the floodwaters and mudslides.
One of the most destructive hurricanes ever to make landfall in the United States left much of New Orleans completely flooded. In its wake were nearly 2,000 dead and 400,000 homeless.
Historic buildings including Chaiwatthanaram Temple (pictured), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were among the cultural casualties of the floods that swamped Thailand in 2011 and 2012 in the wake of heavy monsoon rains.
The southern Indian state of Kerala suffered the worst monsoonal floods in a century when torrential rains inundated the region in August 2018. Several hundred people died in the flooding, which also left 220,000 people homeless.
The tsunami born out of the powerful undersea earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra island on December 26, 2004 rolled over the shoreline of Banda Aceh before continuing to meet the coastlines of Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka. In all, nearly 230,000 people were killed, many as a result of drowning, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history.
The 9.1-magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan on March 11, 2011 triggered a devastating tsunami that destroyed regional infrastructure and left 20,000 dead.
The terrifying 2019 cyclone called Idai that made landfall in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi has been described by Action Aid as "possibly the worst weather-related disaster to ever hit the southern hemisphere." Widespread flooding followed in the cyclone's wake, killing thousands and wrecking homes and destroying crops.
Sources: (Reuters) (Smithsonian Magazine) (BBC) (The Atlantic) (The Guardian) (Action Aid)
Hurricane Mitch, the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record after Hurricane Wilma, slammed into Central America in October 1998, causing over 11,000 fatalities. Pictured is a submerged settlement in the La Mosquitia province, in northeast Honduras.
Violent flash flooding as a result of unusually heavy rainfall took Funchal totally by surprise in February 2010 when the Madeira island capital was hit by a torrent of mud and water, which flowed through the middle of the city. At least 25 people lost their lives.
There were 243 recorded deaths. The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland were also badly affected. Pictured is Schuld near Bad Neuenahr, western Germany, which was especially affected by the floods.
After Turkey suffered for two weeks with wildfires in the southern coastal regions, flash floods struck towns in the northern Turkish Black Sea region. The death toll was more than 80 people. The floods caused massive damage including demolished buildings and bridges, heaps of cars and debris along the streets, and the cutting off of roadways and electricity to hundreds of villages. Thousands of people were evacuated from affected areas.
Flash flooding in Humphreys County in Middle Tennessee claimed at least 21 lives. The storm had knocked out cell service, making it difficult for people to get into contact with their loved ones, and the floods washed homes off their foundations, damaged infrastructure and schools, and scattered cars and debris dangerously around communities. More than 17 inches of rain was measured in McEwen, Tennessee, on August 21, which is reportedly one-third of the yearly rainfall in a given year, and possibly set a new state record for 24-hour rainfall, CNN reports.
Flash flooding in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand left at least 46 people dead. The floods, triggered by heavy rains, submerged homes and toppled bridges, the BBC reports, as a result of both climate change and rampant construction. The southern Indian state of Kerala also experienced devastating flash floods, where at least 26 people died.
Torrential rains in Brazil's most populous state of São Paulo caused deadly landslides and flooding, claiming the lives of at least 19 people, including seven children, public safety officials reported on January 30, as per Reuters.
According to state authorities, nine others were injured, four were missing, and some 500 families were left homeless. The high waters also forced some 500,000 families from their homes across the state, the hardest hit municipalities being Aruja, Francisco Morato, Embu das Artes and Franco da Rocha.
Pakistan also faced its worst flooding ever in 2022. Record monsoon rains submerged a third of the country. More than 1,700 people died; over 500,000 homes were destroyed; roads, crops, and bridges were washed away; and more than 33 million Pakistanis (one in seven people) are estimated to have been affected by the flooding, the BBC reports.
More than 600 people died during the rainy season of 2022 in the worst flooding Nigeria had seen in a decade. The "overwhelming" disaster displaced some 1.3 million people and destroyed more than 200,000 homes. The seasonal flooding intensified due to unusually heavy rains and climate change. Though warnings were put in place, a combination of the emergency release of excess water from dams both in Nigeria and in neighbouring Cameroon, as well as poor infrastructure and lack of means for people to relocate out of floodplains, are key factors behind the devastation of the flooding which destroyed large swathes of farmland and put even more stress on a nation already at high risk of catastrophic levels of hunger.
Pakistan produces less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but it ranks consistently in the top 10 countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, demonstrating how the climate disaster will unfairly unravel and giving an eerie preview to the rest of the world.
Storm Daniel struck Libya in September 2023, triggering disasters in multiple cities. Two dams collapsed causing the city of Derna to become completely submerged. The flooding caused 4,300 deaths, at least 17,000 of which were children.
The recent deadly floods in Spain sent shockwaves throughout Europe. Sadly, these extreme weather events are becoming more frequent with climate change, though the phenomenon is nothing new. History has recorded some truly terrifying floods—natural disasters that have killed thousands and destroyed homes and livelihoods.
Click through and be reminded of some of the worst floods on record.
In May 2023, the South Kivu province was hit with severe flash flooding caused by heavy rain. This disaster resulted in 438 fatalities.
On October 29, parts of southern and eastern Spain were hit with sudden torrential rain that led to severe flash flooding across the region. Some areas received a year's worth of rain in a matter of hours. The flooding caused devastation, resulting in over 220 deaths. The country was left in shock following the disaster and declared three days of mourning for the victims.
The worst floods in history
These catastrophic events are increasing in frequency and severity
LIFESTYLE Environment
The recent deadly floods in Spain sent shockwaves throughout Europe. Sadly, these extreme weather events are becoming more frequent with climate change, though the phenomenon is nothing new. History has recorded some truly terrifying floods—natural disasters that have killed thousands and destroyed homes and livelihoods.
Click through and be reminded of some of the worst floods on record.