B2IELTS-style · Band 5.5–6.5Reading18 min

IELTS Reading: Global Flood Risks

Floods and extreme weather

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IELTS Academic Reading

Living with Flood Risk: Global and Regional Figures

B2 Level ⏱️ 18 Minutes

📌 How to use this lesson

For Teachers:

Set a strict 18-minute timer for silent reading and answering questions 1 to 10.

Have students compare answers in pairs and check each other's passage proof before checking keys.

For Learners:

First, read paragraphs A to D once without stopping to get the main idea of each section.

Next, complete all 10 questions and make sure you can underline the exact words proving your choice.

Reading Passage

Paragraphs A – D

In a 2022 study in Nature Communications, World Bank researchers estimated that 1.81 billion people, which is 23% of the world's population, are directly exposed to flood depths greater than 0.15 metres in a 1-in-100-year flood. This means a flood so large that it has a 1-in-100 chance of happening in any one year. Of these people, 89% live in low- and middle-income countries.

The Environment Agency, which looks after flood risk in England, says that around 6.3 million properties, both homes and businesses, are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water. This could reach around 8 million by mid-century. It adds that living in an at-risk area does not mean that water will enter a property, and that the new figures are not directly comparable with earlier ones.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published its State of Global Water Resources 2024 report on 18 September 2025. It says that only one third of the world's river basins had normal conditions in 2024, and that flooding hit parts of Africa, Europe and Asia.

These facts seem to show that flood risk is spread across rich and poor countries, and I think the World Bank figure suggests that poorer countries have the most people to protect. The facts here do not show how many floods actually happen each year or whether the risk is rising, and the English figure counts areas at risk, not homes that will be flooded.

💡 Why this works: Looking out for careful words

Good writers do not claim more than the numbers show. Look at this example:

"The shops closed by the storm opened again on Friday."

This sentence tells you about some shops, not every shop in the town. In Paragraph D, words like "seem to show", "I think", and "does not mean" set clear boundaries on what is proven and what is an opinion.

Questions 1–3

Do the following statements agree with the views or claims of the writer in the text?

YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

1. The writer believes that developing nations have the largest populations in need of flood protection measures.

____ YES ____ NO ____ NOT GIVEN

2. The data gathered in the text proves that the danger of flooding across the globe is increasing each year.

____ YES ____ NO ____ NOT GIVEN

3. The Environment Agency has received additional government funding to rebuild English coastal flood defences.

____ YES ____ NO ____ NOT GIVEN

Questions 4–6

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

4. What does the term "1-in-100-year flood" describe in Paragraph A?

____ A. A flood that takes place once during every century-long period. ____ B. A flood with a one-in-one-hundred probability of occurring in any given year. ____ C. A flood that rises by exactly 0.15 metres every one hundred years. ____ D. A flood that harms exactly 23% of middle-income nations every hundred years.

5. In Paragraph B, what qualification does the Environment Agency give regarding its 6.3 million figure?

____ A. The number of flooded buildings has already reached 8 million this decade. ____ B. Businesses face far greater danger from surface water than private households. ____ C. Being situated within an at-risk zone does not guarantee water will enter the building. ____ D. The statistics can be checked directly against historical assessments to prove changes.

6. What can be concluded about world river basins in 2024 from the WMO findings in Paragraph C?

____ A. Two thirds of the world's river basins experienced abnormal water conditions. ____ B. River basins across Africa, Europe, and Asia suffered equal financial destruction. ____ C. Most river basins around the world completely dried out during that year. ____ D. Regular river conditions were officially restored on 18 September 2025.

Questions 7–8

Which paragraph contains the following information? Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

7. A note explaining that recent calculations cannot be directly measured against older data.

____ Paragraph A ____ Paragraph B ____ Paragraph C ____ Paragraph D

8. A reference to the specific continents that suffered from flooding incidents during 2024.

____ Paragraph A ____ Paragraph B ____ Paragraph C ____ Paragraph D

Questions 9–10

Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

According to the World Bank study published in 2022, approximately 1.81 billion individuals worldwide face direct exposure to flood [ 9 ] surpassing 0.15 metres during rare, severe weather events.

Answer 9: ____ (Type one word...)

In England, the Environment Agency identifies over six million properties in zones threatened by rivers, the sea, or [ 10 ] water.

Answer 10: ____ (Type one word...)

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