The number of people under threat from major flooding will double to two billion within 50 years, the UN has warned.
The world will be both wetter and warmer, resulting in more storms, said a study from the UN University, based in Tokyo.
It warned that coastal regions and islands were most at risk from flooding, particularly in Asia.
The report said that:
· A sixth of the world's population, one billion people, currently live in an area at risk from a potential major flood,
· Most of those at risk are among the world's poorest,
· Floods kill as many as 25,000 people per year,
· There were six major flood disasters in the 1950s, seven in the 1960s, eight in the 1970s, 18 in the 1980s, and 26 in the 1990s.
The news comes at the same time as scientists revealed that tornadoes are five times more likely to hit Britain than the United States, although the severity of the storm is much less.
