Abstract:
The Active Archive of Large Flood Events provides data about the location,
cause and other statistical information about extreme floods. The Dartmouth
Flood Observatory has compiled this information dating back to 1985.
The information presented in this Archive is derived from a wide variety of
news, governmental, instrumental, and remote sensing source. It is presented in
order to facilitate
... research into the causes of extreme flood events, provide
international warning of such floods, and improve widespread access to
satellite-based measurements and mapping. The archive is "active" because
current events are added immediately. Analysis using remote sensing data is
also presently underway on past events; such additional information is added to
this archive as it becomes available.
Each entry in the table and related map represents a discrete flood event.
However, repeat flooding in some regions is a complex phenomenon and we strive
for a compromise between aggregating and dividing such events. The listing is
comprehensive and global in scope. Deaths and damage estimates for tropical
storms are totals from all causes, but tropical storms without significant
river flooding are not included.
Many floods have now been imaged by satellite or airborne sensors and
translated by Dartmouth Flood Observatory staff into maps of inundation
extents. To view these maps, follow the links for a specific event on one of
the yearly tables. Beginning in early 2003, all prior-year innundation maps are
being removed to save web site space, but end-users can order the GIS
innundation vectors and as identified in the appropriate active archive entry.
[Summary provided by Dartmouth Flood Observatory.] 
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