About Flood | flood

What is flood?

Flood means, "an overflowing of a large amount of water beyond its normal confines, especially over what is normally dry land."

When floods happen in an area that people live, the water carries along objects like houses, bridges, cars, furniture and even people. It can wipe away farms, trees and many more heavy items. (EschoolToday)

Floods occur at irregular intervals and vary in size, duration and the affected area.

It is important to note that water naturally flows from high areas to low lying areas. This means low-lying areas may flood quickly before it begins to get to higher ground.

In this lesson, we shall see more about what causes flooding, the types of flooding, some effects of floods and what we can do before, during and after floods occur.

Flood types and causes

-Flash floods…Flash floods are short-term events, occurring within & hours of the causative event (heavy rain , dam break, levee failure, rapid, a snowmelt and ice jams) and often within 2 hours of the start of high intensity rainfall.

-Coastal floods…Coastal flooding occurs when normally dry, low-lying land is flooded by seawater.

-Urban floods…Urban flooding is specific in the fact that the cause is a lack of drainage in an urban area.

-River (or fluvial) floods… It occurs when a river fills with water beyond its capacity. River floods are responsible for the loss of human life and the damage of property.

-Ponding (or pluvial flooding) … Is is a type flooding that can happen in relatively flat areas. rainwater falling in an area is normally stored in the ground, in canals or lakes, or is drained away, or pumped out.

Flood damage

-Larger social and economic impact

・Flooding usually has an adverse effect on health because it brings about infectious diseases example military, pneumonic plague, break bone fever and common cold. Also for areas which have no electric supply due to flooding, food poisoning may occur as food may not be properly preserved.

・The social trauma inflicted on the people usually has a short term inhabiting effect on the community’s drive. Hence a little time can elapse before there is any concerted move before normalisation can take place.

・It’s main effect is to retard development. A flood stricken area must first be restored to normal before any development can take place. Restoration takes time.

・In addition to the directly determinable losses may be added to the indirect potential losses. This results from lack of productivity in many areas i.e business, commerce, trade etc.

-damage to the ecosystem

Floods can cause erosion, disruption or redirection of natural river or water sources. Top soil in agricultural plains can easily be washed away. Depending on the strength of the flood, the implications can range from mere alteration of the landscape to a decrease in agricultural productivity, and even endangerment of local flora and fauna.

Flood safety: How to prepare for a flood

-Water-at least a 3 day supply;one gallon per person per day

-Food-at least a 3 day supply of non-perishable, easy-to-prepare food

-Flashlight

-First aid kit

-Multi-purpose tool (small)

-Family and emergency contact information

-Emergency blanket

-Rain gear