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Floods clearlyexplained.com

 

A classic flash flood forming in a desert

 

What are floods? 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. Floods are natural phenomena common in many places around the world where there is either a river nearby or the local weather can dump large amounts of rain. The word 'Flood' comes from Old English, Flod, or Pleu, of an Indo-European language root. There are lots of 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. Reference: Flood   Other Natural Disasters from ClearlyExplained.Com Cyclones ClearlyExplained.Com Bushfires ClearlyExplained.Com

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

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Why are Floods important ? There are some obvious reasons for knowing about floods: Environmentally floods can be important to local ecosystems. eg some river floods bring nutrients to soil. A classic example is the Nile River in Eygpt that would flood every eyar and bring nutrients Floods can have an economic and emotional effect on people and property directly affected. Having a better understanding of flood causes can help you better prepare and perhaps minimise or prevent flood damage.

Floods are significant in terms of : Physics of floods the speed and movement of water and the energies involved in floods. chemistry of floods this is really about the kinds of material that are dissolved in flood waters biology of floods how plants and animals are affected by floods. The technology of controlling, preventing, changing floods. The cultural aspects of floods such as how people deal with the results of floods, poetry and music that may have been inspired by flood events.

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News about floods. Google news search , provides all the recent online news articles about floods from all over the world. United States Federal Emergency Agency (FEMA.gov) Current Flood information NSW State Emergency Service (SES) for Floods

Here are some useful links to resources and general information about floods NASA Natural Hazards: Floods The history of floods in South Australia from the Bureau of Meteorolgy (BoM), Australia. BoM Floods and their causes in Australia US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Floods Education

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How do floods occur? Floods are caused by excess water from a few main sources: Rain fall (eg from cyclones or hurricanes) Rivers rising Ice melting Tides due to the moon Tsunamis Some floods are artiificial or man-made. For example dams for storing water or for hydro-electric power. How do floods cause damage? There are two main types of damage caused by floods: plain water damage. this damage basically soaks everything, sometimes it can dissolve foundations and make the ground unstable and muddy. rushing water damage. this is damage due to the water crashing into buildings, cars and other things, this is flood water that often kills people and animals. Storms can build up and dump large amounts of rain water thousands of kilometres away and a wall of water can overwhelm anything in its' path.

How do floods progress? Floods can progress at different speeds. Fast floods or flash floods often occur in deserts where it rains in one place and the water starts to rush Gradual floods, some floods may take a few days to build up to dangerous levels. Others may take a few years.

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What is the history of floods? Floods have existed for as long as water has been on Earth. Some of the first humans to have dealt with floods probably took place some 3 million years ago. In more recent times floods have played a part in various historical times. For example the historical importance of the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Eygpt. Floods tend to be very local so it's best to search for country name or area specific floods.

Floods have been a part of historical culture for quite some time. A famous example of flood is the one in the Bible. People aren't too sure exactly how big it was but there certainly could have been some local flooding that looked pretty impressive at the time.

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The future of floods Floods are likely to be of a major concern in the future especially with larger population living near water such as coasts or rivers. Of possible concern is the idea of a rise in sea levels (due to the melting of ice in Antartica) and the possible flooding of entire pacific island nations or of flooding along major costal cities.

The future of floods is really about trying to: predict when floods are likely to occur. create flood resistant buildings create flood resistant communities, ie avoid towns or cities being too close to flooded areas.

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