In the aftermath of the heartbreaking tragedy this past week of more than 100 deaths (mostly children) from the flash flood in Texas, we can take some solace in the chart below. The death rate from floods, hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, severe heat, and other acts of nature continue to fall and is down by 90% over the past century.

We are all horrified by the deaths in Texas in part because events like this are so rare, not because they are so common.