Think of rivers, and you might think of picnic spots, wild swimming and wildlife, but rivers can be deadly, says Helen Pilcher. In this list, of the world’s deadliest rivers, some are fatal because they have killed, and some are fatal because of their potential to kill. Either way, take my advice and steer clear. These are not rivers to be messed with.
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10 deadliest rivers in the world
Zambezi River, Africa
Hippos, Nile crocodiles, powerful currents, seasonal flooding and the small matter of the Victoria Falls, all conspire to make the Zambezi River deadly.
As with other big rivers, it’s hard to know exactly how many people have perished there, but what’s certain is that the river requires respect. Rapids and fast-flowing water can and do sweep people off their feet, whilst the Victoria Falls, which are 108 metres tall, channel around 1000 cubic metres of water every second.
This is, quite literally, a force of nature. People have, very occasionally, gone over the edge and lived, notably a Chinese tourist who accidentally fell in whilst taking photos in November 2013. But you’re far more likely to die than to survive, making this one waterfall never to be messed with.
The Congo Submarine River, Africa
Hundreds of metres under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, a submarine river flows along the ocean floor.
The regular ‘above ground’ Congo River is so powerful that where it meets the Atlantic, the sediment-rich freshwater sinks to the bottom of the ocean and keeps on flowing. A dense, fast-flowing river is created, entirely under the ocean, that keeps on going for dozens of kilometres.
No one has ever died here, because no one has ever visited, but a visit without specialist equipment would certainly be fatal. The temperature is near freezing. There is no visibility, and the pressure is so intense it would crush anything less than the most stalwart of submersible.
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Amazon River, South America
No list of this kind would be complete without the great Amazon River. It is indisputably the largest river in the world by discharge volume of water and competes with the Nile for the title of longest river.
With its powerful flow, strong currents and propensity for flooding, the river can pose a danger for the millions of people who interact with it daily. Every year, the river claims around a thousand human lives, mostly due to drowning, but the local wildlife is not without its dangers.
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The Amazon River is home to black caiman, which can grow up to 6 metres long, green anacondas, which suffocate their prey by constriction, and electric eels, which can produce shocks of up to 600 volts. And whilst there are no official counts of human deaths caused by these species, it’s still wise to give them a wide berth.
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The Nile, Africa
The Nile may be known as the “giver of life,” yet it is responsible more than 5,000 human fatalities every year. This includes deaths by drowning, deaths by disease, and deaths by dangerous wildlife.
Flowing through eleven countries, the Nile is undisputedly the longest river in Africa, and disputedly the longest river in the world (the Amazon River also vies for first place). Thousands die every year from waterborne diseases, such as schistosomiasis and cholera, whilst several hundred die from attacks by crocodiles and hippos.
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There are tens of thousands of Nile crocodiles and a similar number of hippos living in and around the Nile River basin. Both species can be aggressive and territorial, and their attacks are often sudden and silent. Emergency care is sparse in the many of the areas where they happen, so people are often left without help and the attacks go unreported.
The Hudson, USA
The 500 kilometre Hudson River flows from the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake, all the way to New York Bay and then on into the Atlantic. Although an estimated 60 bodies are recovered from the river every year, the Hudson makes the deadly list, not for this human statistic, but for its deadly effects on wildlife.
Go back 200 years, and Atlantic salmon used to be found in every river north of the Hudson. Then people started building dams, including the Spier Falls Dam (for hydroelectric power) and the Troy Dam (for power and water level control). The structures prevent salmon from migrating to their spawning grounds. Now less than 0.05% of the historic population remains, and the Atlantic salmon has become an endangered species.
The Strid, England
Do not underestimate the Strid, a narrow stretch of the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire. Although it may look little more than a feisty stream, with its burbling waters and moss-covered rocks, the Strid is deceptively dangerous.
Upstream from the Strid, the river is wide and the water flows slowly, but on entry to the feature, it is squeezed into a narrow, deep channel. Large volumes of water are forced through the chasm at high speeds, creating powerful undercurrents. Over time, this has undercut the rocks that flank the Strid, creating dangerous overhangs that make it incredibly difficult for anyone that falls in to climb out.
Locals have claimed that the river here has a 100% fatality rate, and whilst data is lacking, there have been a number of high profile tragedies. Notably, in the twelfth century, a young nobleman called William de Romily drowned when he tried and failed to jump across. His story inspired William Wordworth’s poem The Force of Prayer.
The Shanay-timpishka, Peru
The clue is in the name. Shanay-timpishka means “boiled by the heat of the sun.” This river, also known as the ‘Boiling River,’ reaches temperatures of up to 94oC, posing a threat to any animal that gets too close.
Local shamans believe that the hot water is produced by a giant snake spirit, but geologists think it is heated by non-volcanic, geothermal activity. Precipitation from the Amazon rainforest sinks deep into the ground, is heated by the Earth’s interior, and then resurfaces into the riverbed via fault-fed hot springs. So, the water is not actually “boiled by the heat of the sun,” but by the heat of the Earth.
Scientist Andrés Ruzo, who has studied the river, witnessed many animals fall in, including frogs, insects and rodents. In his 2014 TED talk, he described animals struggling to get out, before swallowing water and cooking from the inside out. They were all boiled alive before they could escape.
Yangtze River, China
Although things have improved, historically the Yangtze River has caused massive loss of life. The river, which is the longest in Eurasia, is prone to flooding, landslides and mudslides.
In 1931, heavy rains and excess meltwater contributed to the Central China floods. This involved the Yangtze River, and lead to more than 2 million deaths. In 1954, high levels of rainfall and a long rainy season triggered the Yangtze River Floods, mainly in Hubei Province, and the deaths of 33,000 people. Whilst in 1998, the river flooded again, resulting in more than 3,700 dead, 15 million homeless and more than $20 billion in damages.
After that, the Chinese government worked hard to improve the river’s safety. Dams were built, river channels were modified, and emergency responses and early warning systems were improved. So, when the river flooded in 2020, the damage was mitigated. 38 million people were affected. 3 million were relocated, and 56 died.
The Citarum, Indonesia
The Citarum River in Java is widely reported to be most polluted river in the world. It flows through a major textile manufacturing hub, where more than 2000 factories have dumped toxic waste, including mercury, lead and arsenic, into the water.
Levels of lead are more than a thousand times the US Environmental Protection Agency standard for drinking water, whilst a 2013 report found that levels of aluminium, manganese and iron exceed the world average by more than three times. And if that’s not bad enough, the river is also choked with plastic, sewage and domestic waste, and the runoff from agricultural fields.
A government-initiated clean-up of the river is underway, but critics counter it’s too little too late. Millions of people have already been exposed to the water, leading to high rates of skin diseases, respiratory problems and digestive issues. Heavy metal exposure is linked to neurological disorders and organ failure, and whilst the exact number of deaths attributable to the river’s pollution is unknown, it’s estimated that thousands die every year due to its toxicity.
The Ganges, India
The Ganges River, which flows through India and Bangladesh, is widely regarded as the world’s deadliest river. Every year, tens of thousands of people lose their life to it, primarily due to drowning.
The Ganges and its tributaries support over 400 million people. Every day, millions use the river for bathing, religious rituals, fishing and transport. This makes it the most frequented river in the world, but the currents are strong, and river is prone to flooding.
Many cross it in small, overcrowded boats, which are prone to capsizing. Many people cannot swim. In parts of the Ganges River basin, drowning is the leading cause of death for children under five years old.
To top it all, the Ganges is also heavily polluted with industrial waste, sewage and human remains. This contributes to high levels of disease-causing bacteria in the water, posing a health risk to those who interact with it. Every year, this causes an estimated 1.5 million cases of diarrheal disease in children who live close to the Ganges and its tributaries.
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