WorldRiskReport 2025: Floods threaten billions of people!

WorldRiskReport 2025: Floods threaten billions of people!

On September 24, 2025, the World Risk Report 2025 was published, published by the Alliance for Development Helps and the Institute for Peacekeeping Law and International Humanitarian Law (IFHV) at the Ruhr University Bochum. The report addresses floods as the most common and most serious natural hazard worldwide. Between 2000 and 2019, these disasters affected over 1.6 billion people, resulting in economic losses of over $650 billion. The increasing risk is primarily due to climate change, urbanization and inadequate land use, such as news.rub.de reported.

Low- and middle-income countries are particularly affected, where 89% of those affected live. The report shows that floods are not only natural events but are also exacerbated by human activity. The intensity and frequency of heavy rain events and storms are increasing in many regions, which is increasingly endangering housing and infrastructure. Effective prevention therefore requires a multidimensional approach.

Flood prevention

The World Risk Report analyzes flood prevention from four perspectives:

• Politisch: Stärkung lokaler Governance-Strukturen und koordinierte Vorsorgestrategien sind entscheidend.
• Technologisch: Der Einsatz von Frühwarnsystemen, Künstlicher Intelligenz und Satellitendaten kann helfen, Risiken frühzeitig zu erkennen.
• Sozial: Die Einbindung traditionellen Wissens sowie community-basierter Ansätze ist von großer Bedeutung.
• Ökologisch: Naturbasierte Lösungen, wie Mangroven, Feuchtgebiete und die Renaturierung von Flüssen, bieten nachhaltige Schutzmaßnahmen.

Dr. Ilona Auer Frege emphasizes the importance of preventative measures to reduce the costs of emergency aid and reconstruction. The report highlights that Germany will be designated as a country with a high flood risk in 2021 due to the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley. This disaster highlights the dangers of a lack of preparation and weak warning systems.

Global risk hotspots and the example of the Philippines

The global flood risk analysis includes a dedicated world map that highlights regional risk hotspots. The Philippines remains the top performer in the 2025 World Risk Index, with low-lying regions such as Cagayan and Pampanga identified as particularly at risk. There are other global risk hotspots in Asia and Latin America, while Africa has high or very high vulnerability with almost 80% of its area.

Germany ranks 95th out of a total of 193 UN member states in the world risk index. The lowest risk levels in Europe can be found in countries such as Luxembourg, San Marino, Andorra and Monaco. The analysis shows that political stability, infrastructure, healthcare and disaster prevention are crucial for vulnerability. Education, gender inequalities and the number of refugees and internally displaced persons also influence vulnerability to natural disasters, such as presseportal.de and zeit.de add to.