Over one-third of the Earth’s landscape is covered by deserts, and only 20% of it is covered by sand.
The remaining 80% of deserts might be made up of rocks and pebbles, desert soil, oases, and even ice and snow (such as in Antarctica).
All deserts have one feature in common, however, and that is that very low precipitation and relatively infinitesimal amounts of surface water are seen.
Flash floods in deserts, caused by torrential rains high up on the mountains, are also a cause of numerous deaths by drowning.
Without any sign, gushes of water flow down the dry river beds, engulfing all that comes in their paths.
For example, in 2006, nearly 130 people perished in the Rajasthan, India region in flash floods induced by torrential rains in the Thar Desert.
As recently as September of 2015, 18 people died in desert flash floods near the Utah-Arizona border in the United States. »
