GEOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT

Department Of Geography
B. Borooah College
Done by-

Neha Mishra
BA 4th Semester
Roll no.- UA-181-002-0172
Registration no.- 18051247
Major Causes Of Flood And Various Mitigation Measure To Be Adopted
Before And After Flood To Reduce Its Adverse Impact On Man And
Society
 CONTENT

1. Flood
2. Causes Of Flood
3. Measure adopted before flood
3.1 Flood Preparedness
3.1.1 Public awareness raising
3.1.2. Forecasting and early warning system
3.1.3. Evacuation planning and shelter management
3.1.4. Livelihood planning
3.2 Flood Proofing
3.2.1. Flood adopted infrastructure
3.2.2. Using vegetation to prevent erosion
3.2.3 Use of levees
4. Measure adopted after flood
4.1 Flood Response Operations
4.1.1. Flood monitoring
4.1.2. Evacuation
4.1.3. Search and rescue operations
4.2 Flood Recovery and Rehabilitation Measures
4.2.1. Post flood assessment
4.2.2. Environmental cleaning
4.2.3. Restoration of basic infrastructure
 FLOOD
A flood is a natural event that can have far reaching effects on people and the environment. Put
simply, a flood is too much water in the ‘wrong’ place! A flood is an overflow of water that
submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied
to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrology and are of
significant concentration in agriculture, civil engineering and public health. Flooding may occur
as an overflow of water from water bodies, such as a river, lake or ocean, in which the water
overtops or breaks levees, resulting in some of that water escaping its usual boundaries, or it
may occur due to an accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground in an areal flood. While the
size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal change in precipitation and snow
melt, these changes in size are unlikely to be considered significant unless they flood property or
drawn property.
Floods can also occur in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the capacity of the river channel
particularly at bends or meanders in the waterway. Floods often cause damage to homes and
businesses if they are in the natural flood plains of rivers. While riverine flood damage can be
eliminated by moving away from rivers and other bodies of water, people have traditionally lived
and worked by rivers because the land is usually flat and fertile and because rivers provide easy
travel and access to commerce and industry
 Causes Of Flood

Many conditions result in flooding. Hurricanes, clogged drainages, and rainfall are some of the
conditions that have led to flooding in various regions across the globe. Here are the leading
causes of flooding. There are several factors that can cause floods. River flooding usually
happens when there has been a great deal of rainfall higher up in the river course which then
travels down and overflows the riverbanks. In higher or colder regions, melting snow or ice have
the same affect and cause the river level to rise above its banks and flood. Coastal flooding
usually happens during a tropical storm. It is caused by storm surges and large waves moving
towards the drier and usually low level land. These surges travel overland, cause coastal areas
to be flooded and can devastate the impacted areas. Some of the major causes of flood are given
below:

METEOROLOGICAL CAUSES

Meteorological causes of flood associated with weather system. Meteorological cause of

flooding include intense storm leading to flash flooding, unusual heavy or prolonged rainfall,
extreme monsoon rainfall, snowmelt, etc. Some of the major meteorological causes of flood are
given below in details.

1. Heavy Rains

Heavy rain is the leading contributor to most of the flooding cases witnessed across the world.
Too much rain causes water to flow overland contributing to flooding. In particular, it is due to
high rainfall intensity over a prolonged period.

Depending on the rainfall distribution, the amount of rain, and soil moisture content, short
rainfall period can also result in flooding. Light rains for longer periods – several days or weeks,
can also result in floods. The rain water erosive force can weaken the foundations of buildings,
causing tumbles and crack
 2. Melting of the Glaciers and Mountain Tops
In the cold regions, ice and snows build up during the winters. When the temperature rises in
summer, the accumulated snows and ice are subjected to melting resulting in vast movements
of water into lands that are normally dry. Regions with mountains that have ice on top of them
also experience the same outcome when the atmospheric temperature rises. This type of
flooding is usually termed as snowmelt flood.

3. Storm Surge and Tsunami

Rain is not always the culprit when it comes to flooding. Storm surges related to hurricanes and
other storms can lead to significant flooding, as can tsunamis that are sometimes caused by
underwater earthquakes.
Given modern technology, we often know about storm surges and tsunamis before they arrive,
but this is not always the case. For example, in 2004, an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia
created a tsunami that gave little warning before coming ashore.

GEOMORPHIC CAUSES

Geomorphic causes include channel migration, meandering growth, avulsion and natural
changes in the elevation of channel bed. These factor may cause the flood to occur in unexpected
areas. In addition to these landslide and surging glacier can block rivers that may cause massive
flood. Some of major geomorphic causes of flood are discussed below:
 4. River Overflows
Rivers or streams can overflow their banks. This happens when the river or stream holds more
water upstream than usual, and it flows downstream to the neighboring low-lying areas,
typically referred to as the floodplains. As a consequence, this creates a sudden discharge of
water into the adjacent lands leading to flooding. Dams and rivers may also at times overwhelm
rivers when the carriage capacity is exceeded, causing the water to burst and get into the
floodplains. Flood caused by river overflow has the potential of sweeping everything in its path
downstream.

5. Lakes and Coastal Flooding

Lakes and d Coastal flooding occurs when large storms or tsunamis causes the water body to surge inland. These
overflows have destructive power since they can destroy ill-equipped structures to withstand water’s strength
such as bridges, houses, and cars.

In the coastal areas, strong and massive winds and hurricanes drive water onto the dry coastal lands and give
rise to flooding. The situation is even worsened when the winds blowing from the ocean carry rains in them. Sea
waters from the tsunami or hurricane can cause widespread damage.
 6. Clogged Drainages
Flooding also takes place when snowmelt or rainfall runoff cannot be channeled appropriately into the drainage
systems forcing the water to flow overland. Clogged or lack of proper drainage system is usually the cause of this
type of flooding.

The areas remain flooded until the storm water systems or waterways are rectified. Instances where the systems
or water ways are not rectified, the areas remain flooded until the excess water evaporates or is transpired into
the atmosphere by plants.

ANTHROPOGENIC CAUSES
Within the last century anthropogenic affects on riverine environment have become more intrusive. Construction
of dams, barrages, embankments and other engineering works has not only modified the natural behavior of the
rivers but has also added a new dimension to the problems of flooding. Dam failure and breaching of
embankments have been responsible for some unusual flood in recent times. Major anthropogenic causes are:

7. Dam Breakage
Dams are man-made structures used to hold water from flowing down from a raised ground. The potential
energy stored in the dam water is used to generate electricity. At times, the walls can become weak and break
because of overwhelming carriage capacity. Due to this reason, breakage of the dam can cause extensive
flooding in the adjacent areas.

Flooding occurs when the embankments built along the sides of the river to stop high water from flowing onto
the land breaks. Sometimes, the excess water from the dam is deliberately released from the dam to prevent it
from breaking thereby causing floods.
 8. Deforestation
Large scale deforestation in the upper catchment is perhaps the most important anthropogenic factor of the
river floods. Large scale deforestation decrease infiltration capacity of the land and consequently increases
surface runoff. Dense vegetation allow maximum infiltration of rainwater into the ground because raindrops are
intercepted by forests canopy.
 Measures To Reduce The Impact Of Flood

MEASURE ADOPTED BEFORE FLOOD

Even with prior knowledge that flooding will occur in some areas, it will not always be possible to keep Flood
water away due to several practical reasons. In such cases there are measures that can be taken to minimize
flood impact. These include flood proofing, raising awareness, and flood preparedness. Often such measures are
based on flood hazards maps.

FLOOD PREPAREDNESS MEASURE

The risk of catastrophic floods exists every year, and heavy downpours often lead to dangerous flooding
conditions. Wildfires add another layer of risk during the rainy season because dangerous landslides and debris
flows can rush down fire-scarred hillsides. Because flooding can occur anywhere throughout the state, it is
important for Californians to assess their flood risk, prepare and practice response plans, and learn from past
floods. We assist with flood activities, and through collaboration with federal agencies are improving our
understanding of atmospheric rivers and their effects on flooding and water supply.

1. Public Awareness Raising

Public awareness raising is the process through which people living in flood prone areas are sensitized
regarding specific dangers of flooding. It includes educating, informing loading the community about floods
and helping them to better prepare for responding to flood emergency situation, with less dependence on
outside assistance on external intervention. Through appropriate action, the increased resilience can help to
prevent loss of human life and property. Methods of Public awareness raising are some of the vehicles that
can be used for conducting awareness raising campaign:

• News media – Radio, TV, Newspaper, Video spot, photo package, audio tape.
• Print media – Leaflets, booklet, poster, etc.
 • Community activity – Meeting, Community discussion, Community oriented program such as street
play, distribution of pamphlet, door to door campaign, etc.

2. Hazard Forecasting, Early Warning Systems, and Emergency Plans

Flood forecasts and warning are information essential for the timely execution of the flood preparedness
program, especially in carrying out time sensitive activities like relocation of people to safer areas and the
deployment of resources for flood response activities.
Detailed weather forecasts of the path and severity of a tropical storm, and accurate predictions of stages
(heights) of flooding rivers enable government officials and the public to make decisions to evacuate or move
valuable property from high-hazard areas. Advance information about potential failures of levees or dams
can significantly reduce the consequences should failures occur. Preparation of emergency action and
evacuation plans can similarly reduce or eliminate casualties and property losses. A simple and effective early
warning system is made of three main components as follows:
• Flood hazard detention and forecasting.
• Formulation of warning messages.
• Community response.

3. Evacuation planning and Temporary Shelter Management

Evacuation planning a highly prioritized activity of flood planning program should be done in advance by the
relevant local level government agencies and NGO together with the community volunteer groups. In order to
facilitate evacuation planning , the FPP must clearly identify vulnerable areas, by using flood risk mapping.
 4. Livelihood Planning
To minimize the disruptive effect of the flood on the income generation activities of the community prior
arrangement should be made to ensure alternative livelihood options during flooding as well as to facilitate rapid
recovery of economic function after the flood. This is of utmost especially in cases where flood inundation period
are long and living with floods options are preferred to evacuation. Relevant government institutions can play a
significant advisory role in planning and implementation of these activities.

FLOOD PROOFING
Flood proofing measures aim to make building construction flood resistant. This can be done either by designing
construction to withstand water intrusion or by elevating building above the ground.

1. Flood Adopted Infrastructure and interiors

Flood adopted infrastructure can help to minimize the damaging impact of floods on people and property. This
can be achieved by:
a) Improving construction of houses and buildings that is constructing houses with raised plinths, cement,
backed bricks walls and flat roofs, etc.
b) Elevating villages above normal inundation levels. This way the water cannot enter home during normal
floods.
c) Constructing flood drainage system. It is important to develop design for roads, railway and other
infrastructure that increase rather than restrict drainage system and resilient to flood damage
One of best ways to prevent loss to property during flood is to make sure that the cellars and lower floors are
not expensively designed and furnished.

2. Using Vegetation to Prevent Erosion

When houses on entire Village are built using mud, they become very vulnerable to erosion. To prevent such
erosion of houses and entire village, people from flood prone areas should grow vegetation to bind the earth
together and thereby strengthen it.
Vegetation cover on land trees, plants, grass etc, obstruct the run of rainwater and slows down the speed of its
flow . This slowing down helps rainwater to percolate into the soil. Floods are often caused by sudden increase
in the volume of water reaching a river. vegetation allows the water to flow slowly into the river, thus preventing
sudden flooding. It also helps to increase the amount of water which goes into the soil. It reduces the erosion of
soil by rain water. If the surface of the land is covered with vegetation then soil erosion is greatly reduced

Use of Levees
In the past, when there was inadequate flood protection in low lying areas, farm houses in many areas were
constructed on levees. When floods occurred, property was spared and only farmland were flooded. The idea of
constructing houses on levees built of sea/rivers sludge is being explored again.

MEASURE AFTER FLOOD

After a flood has occurred, there are several relief measures that have to be undertaken all at the same time to
reduce human misery and restored livelihoods. These post flood mitigation include evacuation plan, robust
communication system, first aid relief, emergency repair, disease prevention, restoring water supply, etc. The
detailed description with several of these measures are:

FLOOD RESPONSE OPERATION

Flood response should be implemented along clearly demarcated roles and responsibilities outlined in the FPP.
The effectiveness of flood response is based on the effective coordination among all agencies, effective logistics
management. It is critical in any situation to quickly identify the resources needed. Emergency management
require coordination and cooperation between the national or provincial districts and community level actors.
Often a flood response system fails due to lack of understanding between various stakeholders and lack of
coordination between the main response agency such as military and police, information management
department and the local disaster management authorities.
 1. Flood Monitoring
During flood response a state of panic and chaos may prevail. This can be addressed by creating an efficient
flood monitoring system at local levels. Flood monitoring enables up to the minutes of flood information at the
local levels, equipping them with the tools for efficient execution of real time emergency operations. Time
sensitive activities such as generation of flood warning, evacuation of volunteer population to safe areas, and
deployment of search and rescue team, rely upon to data information, including the latest water level at a
particular point in the river.

2. Evacuation operations
A good Flood planning program with pre-identified evacuation sites, safe routes, and shelter is useful to relocate
affected people out of the flood inundation areas to safe areas. Local authorities are the best placed to set
appropriate timing for evacuation based on early warning and latest flood situation. If the decision to evacuate
is not taken on time, loss of lives, injury and properties can be high.

3. Search and Rescue Operations

In undertaking the search and rescue operations. It is important that the search and rescue team should be
guided by a single command structure. The team should be give priority to highest vulnerability where rescue
posts should be established. The team needs to make sure that the search and rescue equipment such as boats,
floating tubes, and life jackets are at hand at all times. The local disaster management authorities should ensure
that the list of resource is up to date and the equipment is in working conditions.
FLOOD RECOVERY AND REHABILITATION MEASURE
The flood recovery and rehabilitation phase aims to restore normality and help people to get back to their routine
social and economic engagements. It is important that all stakeholders including relevant agencies and ministries
concerned with the formulation and direction of recovery program fully understood to nature of recoveries. Most
aspects of recovery apply to restoration, reconstruction and long term community rehabilitation. The recovery
process is therefore complex and extensive. It can generate a multiplicity of problems, some of which will
necessitate changes to original plans as time recovery process proceeds.
1. Post Flood Damage Assessment
Damage assessment helps in identifying specific recovery programs. As assessment system equipped with proper
guidelines and techniques should be in place at the provincial and district level to enable the assessment team
to provide basic data for formulation of the recovery and rehabilitation program. The role of local disaster
management authorities to facilitate damage assessment activities helps to identify community needs for
recovery after flooding such as housing, healthcare, education, social, economic, etc.

2. Environmental Cleaning
With the intention of preventing any outbreak of disease or any further injury caused by debris, the cleaning up
process has to be undertaken immediately after the flooding. Clean up after a flood require much time, patience
and skill.
While the individual family takes care of cleaning of their houses, cleaning up the public places can be carried
out by well organized groups of military, police , Red cross, volunteers, under the supervision of local disaster
management authorities.

3. Restoration of Basic Infrastructure

Reconstruction offers a great chance to reduce vulnerability at no or little extra cost. This phase is a particular
challenge to local authorities as the reconstruction period, which leads to a higher and sustainable safety level,
needs planning time in the force of urgent needs of the affected people.
Immediately after flooding any damages to the important infrastructure should be repaired as soon as possible.
The basic infrastructure that need immediate attention include:
a) Electricity generation facilities and their networks .
b) Water distribution facilities as well as sewage system.
c) Transportation facilities such as roads and bridges.
d) Damaged houses.
THANK YOU