Introduction

A flood is usually caused by rain, heavy thunderstorms, and thawing of snow.

Its considered to be a temporary condition of two or more acres of dry land either: Overflowed with inland or tidal waters Rapid or runoff of surface waters Mudflows

CAUSES OF FLOODS

PRECIPITATION INADEQUATE CAPACITY (WITHIN BANKS) BANK EROSION AND SILTING LAND SLIDES TIDAL AND BACK WATER EFFECTS POOR DRAINAGE SNOW MELT AND GLACIAL OUT BURSTS

How does Flooding Start and end?

The shore or land by or surrounding a body of water erodes and this erosion causes waves currents that result in a flood. Flood disasters have been increased because of the expansion of settlements and growth in floodplains. Floods could be slow or fast but usually occur over a matter of days. After the water eventually goes down or dries up. On coastal floods, low tides and high tides makes a change in heights.

Why does it occur ?

A flood is too much water in the wrong place. Sometimes a flood occurs from : Sewer (drain) backup Collapse of land along the shore of a lake or another body of water. This results in waves or currents during a flood

Flooding is the most worldwide natural disaster. It occurs in every country and wherever there is rainfall or coastal hazards. They are most likely to happen in tropical areas and tsunamis. Most common floods happen around the worlds largest/greatest rivers. Believe it or not, smaller rivers could cause more damage even though people dont pay as much attention to them. Most Flooding occurs during the beginning of spring.

Types of floods:1.
2.

3.
4.

5.

Flash Floods River Floods Coastal Floods Lakeshore Floods Urban and Ice Jams

Flash Floods

Flash floods happen in a short time, they have a great volume of water, and are local floods. The runoff of intense rain results in high flood waves. Flash floods result in failure of dams and more. It usually happens in desert areas and mountain regions. They are a threat in steep land, high runoff rates, thunderstorms, and narrow streams.

This is a picture of a town after a Flash Flood

River Floods
Riverine floods are caused by melting of snow and precipitation over large areas. They take place in rivers. Floods in large rivers take hours to days. The ground conditions effects the runoff.

Coastal Floods

Venezuela in December of 1999.

Coastal floods are caused by tides, storms, tropical cyclones, or tsunamis. They happen in the ocean and effects the general public and maritime interests along the coastline. They are caused by heavy surf, tidal piling, and storm surges, Other factors are tidal cycles, behaviors of the storm, river or stream runoff, no offshore reefs or other barriers, and high

Urban Floods and Ice Jams

Urban floods are when the land is turned from fields or woods into roads and parking lots. Since this happens it cant absorb the rainfall.

During the urban floods all the streets become rivers and
basements become full of water, they are death traps.

Ice Jam is floating ice that adds up at a man-made or natural area and stops the flow of water. This causes the area to flood.

Lakeshore Floods

Lakeshore floods affect the general public as well as some areas of the Great Lakes. These floods extend from the beaches to rivers that flow into lakes. The extent of the flooding is dependant on surrounding the shore terrain. The causes of these lakeshore floods are seiches in the Great Lakes. The Webster dictionarys definition of Seiches is: The flow of periodically changing direction of the surface of a landlocked body of water (like a lake) that varies from a few

FLOOD MANAGEMENT

Human response to Flooding:

1.

2.

3.

Flood protection decreases risk of bankfull capacity being exceeded Flood abatement reduces stormflow and reduces peak discharge levels Behavioural responses societies adopt different coping strategies

Flood Protection
1)

Modification to channel or banks:

Bank raising and dredging both increase bank full capacity By increasing the hydraulic radius, channels also become more efficient (velocity increases and so water levels drop) Widely used (e.g. Mississippi 3000 kms of raised levees up to 15 m high)

Flood Protection
2.

Artificial channel linings :Concrete lined channels create smoother wetted perimeter and so increase velocity Thus water levels drop and flood risk is reduced Expensive, and high maintenance E.g. Los Angeles

Flood Protection
3.

Dam construction :Multi-purpose, but key tool for flood protection Controlled release of water stored in reservoir through sluice gates can spread discharge over a longer period (reducing peak flows) Effectiveness depends on relative scale of reservoirs catchment area to that of the whole drainage basin Geo-politics can cause problems e.g. India and Bangladesh (Ganges), Spain and Portugal (Tagus), Zimbabwe and Mozambique (Limpopo and Floods of 2000)

Flood Protection
4. Flood relief channels:

It effectively increases bank full capacity and diverts flow away from high impact zones It requires there to be space on floodplains to skirt around high impact zones, so not always possible e.g. River Exe at Exeter, River Thames at Windsor

Flood Protection
5.

Spreading grounds:
Diverting flood water to low impact flood plain zones, for storage Reduces downstream peak flows Low impact zones can be recreational land use Flood water will evaporate or eventually infiltrate, replenishing groundwater supplies E.g. Los Angeles basin

Flood Protection
6. Debris dams:

To trap sediment in upper catchments to prevent downstream bed aggradation Maintains higher bank full capacities downstream Periodic need for emptying, but can be used for construction materials Especially important in semi-arid, mountainous catchments E.g. Los Angeles Basin

Flood Protection
7. Straightening of sinuous

rivers:

Increases gradient increases flow rates Thus water levels drop and flood risk is reduced Also reduces deposition and averts bed aggradation Also keeps channels navigable

Behavioural responses
1. 2.

3.

Accepting the loss Fatalism often only option in countries like Haiti or Bangladesh Public relief funds Emergency response to hazard event requires funding, materials, technical support, rebuilding. Sources vary from UN agencies to governments and NGOs Flood insurance A standard response in flood prone communities in the North

Behavioural responses
4.

Monitoring and Prediction Data on rainfall and stream discharge can be used to produce accurate predictions of the timing of flood surges Can be used for communities to prepare for actual flood event or for authorities to organise evacuations Not always possible flash floods have too short a lag time (e.g. Boscastle, Devon, U.K., 2004), lack of technical equipment / personnel (Haiti, 2004), or communication systems

Behavioural responses
5.

6.

Floodplain zoning Planning authorities can prohibit certain land-uses in the more flood prone floodplain zones Flood proofing Individuals bear responsibility for reducing likely flood damage to property Techniques: water-proof garden walls, windows and doors; sandbags; buildings on stilts; removal of damageable goods

THANK YOU