GEOGRAPHY

ASSIGNMENT
By : Muskan Rathi (1905100)
What is flood?
Flood is an overflow of water that submerges land
that is usually dry. Floods are an area of study of the
discipline hydrology and are of significant concern in
agriculture and public health Human changes to
environment often increases the intensity and frequency
of flooding, for ex. land use changes such as:
deforestation and removal of wetlands, changes in
waterway course or flood control such as
with levees, and larger environmental issues such as
climate change or sea level rise.

DEFINATION
Flood is a term used to denote an “enormous
amount of water”. When there is an outflow of
water in a place, it is said to be flooded.  The
situation caused when the water becomes
uncontrollable is said to be flooded. 
The flood may take different forms such as in the
form of heavy rainfall when there is a breaking of
the dam.
Causes of flood
Here are eight of the most common causes of
flooding, both natural and human-induced.

1. Heavy Rains
The simplest explanation for flooding is heavy rains. No
matter where you live, you are surrounded by
infrastructure and systems designed to move rainwater
into appropriate basins and reservoirs. In most cases,
the infrastructure does its job, and you never have to
think about where the rain goes when it runs off.
When it rains heavily, however, those systems are
overwhelmed, and that water doesn’t drain nearly as
quickly as it needs to. In short, the drainage systems
back up, and the water rises — sometimes into homes.
This typically happens only in cases of sustained heavy
rains over a long period.

2. Overflowing Rivers
You do not necessarily need to have heavy rains to
experience flooding in your area. For example, if you
live along a river and areas upstream from you
experience heavy rains, it could lead to a serious
overflow where you live. Most larger rivers include a
series of dams to help manage large amounts of
rainfall, and most river systems are managed by
government authorities.
Sometimes, however, those authorities have to make
tough decisions about how to operate dams. They
often can manage the water and prevent flooding
altogether — but not always.

3. Broken Dams
Much of America’s infrastructure was built in the 20th
century, so it is getting old. When heavy rains come,
and water levels rise, aging dams can fail and unleash
torrents of water on unsuspecting households.
This is part of what happened after Hurricane Katrina
hit New Orleans in 2005. Levees failed and made the
flooding far worse than it would have been otherwise.
While we have come to depend on 20th-century
architecture, and much of it does its job well, there is
always a possibility that a structure will fail.

4. Urban Drainage Basins

Many of our cities are made of mostly concrete and
other impermeable material. When you have an urban
drainage basin that is made of concrete, there is no
ground for water to sink into. So, when those drainage
basins fill up, it is going to mean flooding for low-lying
areas.
This is mostly the case in large urban areas — think
Houston and Los Angeles. When heavy rains strike, the
basins used to drain them cannot always handle the
load.

5. Storm Surges and Tsunamis

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.

6. Channels with Steep Sides

Flooding often occurs when there is fast runoff into
lakes, rivers and other reservoirs. This is often the case
with rivers and other channels that feature steep sides.
It is a similar issue to having a lack of vegetation, which
is explained in more detail below.
7. A Lack of Vegetation
Vegetation can help slow runoff and prevent flooding.
When there is a lack of vegetation, however, there is
little to stop water from running off. This can be a bit of
a conundrum after a drought.
While area residents likely welcome the rain, the lack
of vegetation after the drought can cause flash
flooding. This does not always happen given that
basins and reservoirs are close to empty, but it can
occur in cases of extreme rains following long periods
of drought.

8. Melting Snow and Ice

A winter of heavy snow and other precipitation can
lead to a spring of flooding. After all, that snow and ice
have to go somewhere when they melt. Most
mountainous areas experience relatively consistent
snowfall totals from year to year, but an unusually
heavy winter of precipitation can spell bad news for
low-lying areas around the mountains when spring
hits.
←Impact of flooding
Floods can cause damage to homes and possessions as
well as disruption to communications. However,
flooding can also have positive impacts on an area.
Flooding deposits fine silt (alluvium) onto
the floodplain, making it very fertile and excellent for
agriculture. People living on or near floodplains may
rely upon regular flooding to help support their farming
and therefore provide food.
e

Impacts on people and the environment

Impacts on the
Impacts on people
environment
Pollution: Floods will wash chemicals and sewage into
Loss of life: Floods can cause death and injury.
the water. The contaminated water will spread quickly
People can get trapped in their houses by the
over an area – causing public health issues and killing
quick rising waters.
fish.

Destruction of wildlife habitat: Floods will destroy

Property: As flood waters rise they can flow into
places where river animals and fish might have
low-lying properties. The river will be carrying
breeding grounds. Even slight changes to river
huge amounts of pollution and silt that will
temperature and water patterns can upset natural
destroy floors, walls and any electrical gear.
ecosystems.

Insurance cover: Some people who live close to

river courses find it difficult to get insurance
whilst others cannot afford the insurance
premiums. The cost of repairing and rebuilding
damaged buildings can push up insurance
premiums.
Water recharge: Floods can bring water back to dry
areas (e.g. along the course of the river Nile in Egypt).
Floods will ensure that there is water for irrigation or
for drinking water in dry places.
 1.

Flood management
Steps can be taken to manage flooding. This is known
as River Management. Often these steps involve trying
to lengthen the amount of time it takes for water to
reach the river channel, thereby increasing the lag
time.
Dams
 Built along the course of a river to control the amount of discharge. Water is
held back by the dam and released in a controlled way.
 Water is usually stored in a reservoir behind the dam. This water can then
be used to generate hydroelectric power or for recreation purposes.
 Expensive to build.
 Settlements and agricultural land may be lost when the river valley is
flooded to form a reservoir.

Flood walls
 Can be used to raise the height of the river bank to a level where the river
might not burst its banks.
 Can be permanent features or incorporated into the design of an area and
become invisible.
 Can also be temporary structures where flood gates or
removable ‘stoplogs’ are built to protect a stretch of river.

Levees and embankments

  Flood embankments are Artificial levees can be built along river banks so that
if the river floods, the water will not be able to breach the wall and cause
damage. Levees can be expensive and can spoil the look of rivers.
 usually used in rural areas. They can take up a lot of space and are cheaper
than flood walls but they can also cause the speed of the water in the river
to be increased which will just move any potential flooding further
downstream.

Straightening and Deepening

 The channel may be widened or deepened allowing it to carry more water.
A river channel river may be straightened so that water can travel faster
along the course. The channel course of the river can also be altered,
diverting floodwaters away from settlements.

Disaster Preparedness Plan

o Flood Hotspot Mapping at local and regional scale.
o Management and regulation of riparian zones to prevent
spilling and erosion.
o River flood modelling to prepare for incidences like
reservoir breach and emergency water release from
dams.
o Advanced techniques such as mapping based on satellite
imagery and Geographic Information Systems will help
in development of flood early warning systems.

Integrated Approach: 
Steps need to be taken for watershed management through an integrated
approach. Often these approaches involve both hard engineering solutions
and ecologically sustainable soft solutions.
o Hard Solutions: It involves civil engineering construction
such as dams, culverts and dykes, widening and
deepening of river channels and diversion channels to
store and divert water to increase the lag time of water
reaching downstream.
 o Ecological Soft Solutions: The solutions such as
restoration and management of riparian zones,
afforestation along the river channels which led to
retention of rainwater and reduces the river discharge.
o An integrated approach to managing floods requires a
sound understanding of the patterns that rivers such as
the Ganga and its tributaries display during the
monsoon.

Flood prone areas in India

Conclusion
As floods cause major damage to life and property
every year, it is time the central and the state
governments prepare a long-term plan that goes
beyond piecemeal measures like building
embankments and dredging to control floods. Also,
there is a need for an integrated basin management
plan that brings all the river-basin sharing countries as
well Indian states on board.

Sources
www.preservearticles.com

www.bbc.co.uk