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A new study shows that the percentage of the global population at risk from flooding has risen by almost a quarter over the last 20 years.  Satellite images were used to chart the increase, which is far greater than had been predicted by computer models.  The analysis shows that migration and a growing number of flood events are behind the rapid rise, which, the authors of the study warn, is only likely to continue. 

Beth Tellman, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona's School of Geography, and lead author of the study, explains how satellite images have revealed so much more. She says that urban areas in the global south are most at risk, and the fact that more and more people are moving to these areas and the possibility that flood plains may actually be expanding, is cause for concern.

Photo: A flooded street after heavy rain in Mumbai, India July 2019 Credit: Getty Images