Floods

Within the study of earth sciences, floods are potential natural disasters or hazards. 

Basically a flood is a when the water level in an area rises where there was normally little or none before. Floods can be dramatic and quick or slow and creeping.

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A classic flash flood forming in a desert


Floods are usually natural phenomena common in many places around the world where either there is river nearby or the local weather can dump large amounts of rain.

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A a diagram of a normal water level


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A diagram of a flooded area, notice how the landscape changes.


The word 'Flood' comes from Old English, Flod, or Pleu, of an Indo-European language root.

Other uses of the word flood

There are many other uses of the word flood, which generally means a sudden increase in the amount of just about anything. Flood with light, flood the market with cheap goods and so on.

Commentary:

How floods occur

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Floods are caused by excess water filling areas from a few main sources:

  • Rain fall (from …

How floods progress

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Floods can progress at different speeds:

Fast floods or flash floods 

These often occur …