skip to content Accessibility Wildfowl esc amp Wetlands Trust WWT Site Navigation Home About us Visit us Latest news Support us Our work Learn Shop Search results Search this site Site tools Sitemap Contact us Why people need wetlands Wetland food Clean water Water pollution Water related diseases Floods Burning peatlands Water availability Wetland medicines Mental well being Adopt a bird today The perfect gift for Christmas What you get when you adopt cuddly soft toy of your species complimentary ticket reusable jute bag newsletter twice a year adoption certificate fact sheet bookmark Adopt a mallard Due to a dramatic decline the mallard is now on the amber list in the recent birds of conservation concern report Adopt a Eurasian crane Over 400 years ago these magnificent giants were hunted to extinction in the UK Adopt a nene The nene is the rarest goose in the world In 1951 the population fell to only 30 birds Adopt a lesser flamingo Despite being the world s most numerous flamingo these birds are classified as near threatened Adopt a Bewick s swan Bewick s are the rarest swan species found in the British Isles during the winter Sadly the number of Bewick s wintering in the UK is falling Breadcrumbs You are here Home Our work Wetlands and people Why people need wetlands Floods Floods Floods have affected human lives since the beginning of civilization Floods have affected human lives since the beginning of civilization But all types of floods riverine and coastal floods and storms sudden snow melts floods after intense rainfall have become more destructive in recent decades because increasingly human infrastructure is being built in flood prone areas and they are likely to be even more pronounced in the future The direct and immediate impacts on human health include loss of life injuries and the lack of clean water and destruction of sewage systems These cause another set of threats to human health diarrhoea cholera and other life threatening water related ailments Receding floods in some countries also provid