Introduction: Flood is a frequent and most destructive hazard in India. It is a recurrent phenomenon, which cause huge loss of lives and damage to livelihood systems, property, infrastructure and public utilities. It has large social consequences for communities and individuals. Objective: In this study, events and human deaths due to flood hazards in India have been discussed in terms of their annual as well as decadal trend for last 40 years. Methodology: Data of events and human deaths of flood hazards have been analyzed using secondary data of 1975–2014. Data were collected from the website of National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi. Results: Out of 40 years, flood has39 years with casualty. Median (IQR) of flood events and human deaths were 5 (3-6) and 1194 (581-2015). Kruskal Wallis H test revealed that there was significance increasing trend in flood events (p0.05) over the decades. Conclusion: In India, despite many preventive measures for floods, its annual, as well as decadal human deaths are still high. Planning for long term sustainable development in flood prone areas and increasing coping capacity of the people are most important ways of reducing human vulnerability and risk.
