Floods and Drowning Incidents by Floods

Floods as natural disasters can cause severe even fatal damages to many communities such as loss of lives and properties every year. The aim of this study is to present the risks of floods for the human life and the basic characteristics of the citizens who lose their lives as a result of floods. For this study, online archives related to flood events have been examined via search engines, "www.google.com" and "www.yahoo.com". A total of 147 citizens (59 females and 88 males) drowned by floods between the years 2006-2010 (Mean age= 27.44 years, age range: 1-82 years). 61 of them (41.49 %) were children and 86 (58.51 %) were adults. To reduce the death toll caused by floods, it is a practical way to improve the sensitivity of the early warning system and disseminate the needed information rapidly. There have been flood caused deaths in big cities, which mean that even big cities are not ready to cope with the risks of floods. The age range of drowned people by floods is quite wide and 61 of the victims are children. For that reason both children and very old people must be kept under observation.