Lucas Williams, Lawshe Plantation, South Carolina, US, 11 October 2015

I went to bed on a Friday night and everything was fine. Three days later, my whole life was under water. We’ve had years when the swamps got high from rain, but nothing like this. I went to sleep at 11pm and there was still 30ft (9m) to go before the water would come into the house. I woke at 6.30 and it was ankle deep. We got our stuff and we got out. Our farm has about 1,300 acres, and 1,000 were under water. We lost everything – our immediate losses are close to half a million dollars. We did not have flood insurance.

Ripon Islam and Tarajul Islam, Chandanbaisa village, Bogra District, Bangladesh, 13 September 2015

Tarajul says: I was leaving my shop when a little water came into the village. I felt the earth getting wet. We stayed awake and at dawn I took my wife and two kids and our belongings to the new embankment, Ripon took my mother and the goat. The water was only a few inches deep, but we ran because we didn’t know how fast it would rise. My father lost everything years back in a flood. We know the village will be flooded again, but what can we do? I’ve moved nine times already.

Francisca Chagas dos Santos, Rio Branco, Brazil, 10 March 2015

It often floods here, almost every year, so most of our homes are on stilts. But nobody can remember a higher flood. We are all camping now. We have no choice but to be in the water, even though the snakes make it dangerous. I’ve heard the government has plans to move us away and turn this area into a park. But I’ve heard this for years and we are still here. It’s not a big deal: when the floods come, we take our stuff and leave for a while. The only problem is the thieves; we have to visit almost every day to protect our homes.

JB Singh, Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar, Kashmir, India, 24 September 2014

I feel lucky to be alive. I live in one of the most damaged areas, where most of the homes were under water almost up to the roof. I have repaired my own home and my truck, but it was a financial disaster for me and I got no help from the government.

Kate Nesbitt, Andrews, South Carolina, US, 10 October 2015

It came suddenly. We had a rainstorm that weekend and a few dams breached and all the rivers flooded. On Monday morning I was waist deep in water; the next day I had 17ft (5m) of water in my driveway. Nobody knows what caused it. I have lived in this house for more than 40 years and raised three boys here, and I’ve lost everything. All the walls have had to come out, all the insulation, the light fittings. I’m having to start from scratch and for now I’m living in a camper in a friend’s yard. I’m just going to take it a day at a time.

Mushaq Ahmad Wani and Shafeeqa Mushtaq, Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar, Kashmir, India, 25 September 2014

The authorities said there was no need to worry, but we ignored them – water was entering our home. We had no time to save all our possessions; we rescued some documents, a few of our children’s books, artworks, then moved upstairs. The view was horrific: water was washing into every house and most of our neighbours had fled. We were stuck on the third floor for days. These are big old houses, held together by mud mortar, so the water caused a lot of damage; our home was on the brink of collapse.

Valdenir Lima da Silva, Rio Branco, Brazil, 9 March 2015

This is my uncle’s home. My brother and I have come to help him clean up. It is a very tough job: we have to use this dirty water, while it is still here, to do the cleaning. Once it’s gone, it will be harder. Scrubbing walls is hard work, but good exercise – I am trying to build up my body.

David Morris, Andrews, South Carolina, US, 9 October 2015

There was a lot of rain, so I knew a lot of water was coming. I used my boat to help people get their stuff out. It was one terrible experience, but it brought the community together. Everyone was involved. It was cool. And people came from out of state, church groups. They cleared out insulation, moved furniture, anything to help. I’m back in my house now, but all my neighbours lost their homes. I’ve got a saying: ‘Country boys will survive.’ We are just going to rebuild and get stronger. That’s all I know, just keep moving forward.

Jameela Khan Bemina, Srinagar, Kashmir, India, 23 September 2014

For an old couple like us, there was no chance of escape when the floods came. We had several warnings and local people begged us to leave the house when the water started to enter it, but we decided to stay because we thought if we leave, thieves will rob us. We brought as much as we could to the upper floor and stayed there more than a week until the water receded. But that was just the beginning of the chaos. It had gone but it had left all the mud and silt. It took us a month to clean everything with our bare hands.

José Alcides dos Santos and Erenilce Lima e Silva, Rio Branco, Brazil, 10 March 2015

Over the last five years, every year we have had to move with our three children to the shelter, because this district often suffers from flooding. But this time the water went really high, I have never seen it that way. We have come back to our home to clean the mud off the walls. It is difficult for us, with such young children, to have our lives so often disturbed in this way. But we thank God the house is still here, we have our health and our kids are fine. We take life as it comes and hope for the best.

David and Elaine Samios, Summerville, South Carolina, US, 9 October 2015

It definitely was a surprise. On the first day the water just covered part of our garden, and nobody thought it was going to come much higher. On the second day it rose all the way up to the house and we started getting nervous and moving our stuff upstairs. By day three it was inside. It’s a surreal experience: you see it coming and there is nothing you can do about it. But it brought our community closer. The whole neighbourhood pulled together. It was really nice to see complete strangers coming in to lend a hand.

Johora, Chandanbaisa village, Bogra District, Bangladesh, 15 September 2015

I was asleep when the water came. First it wet the floor, then it rose to my bed. I was frightened. We used to live in a decent house and had land we could cultivate. The river has taken it all. Now I am a widow and earn a little money doing domestic work. When the village flooded, I couldn’t find shelter. We tried to go to another place, but the people did not want us. Instead, I sleep in a little boat that leaks. I have no food for my children – people don’t need domestic help because their houses are under water.

João Pereira de Araúj, Rio Branco, Brazil, 14 March 2015

I have seen many floods in my life, but never this high. My home is built on stilts, but now the lower floor is submerged. I look out of the window and see street after street under water – so many homes and shops. All we can do is wait for the water to go down, clean up and continue.Gideon Mendel’s Drowning World was shortlisted for this year’s Prix Pictet global award in photography and sustainability. It will be at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris until 13 December, and on billboards as part of Artists 4 Paris Climate 2015.