Dry areas with deep but narrow rivers are prone to flooding, but even wetter climates aren’t immune. The water level rises quickly and usually turns muddy due to the amount of sediment being washed away. What they all have in common, however, is that stream and river channels take on a sudden influx of water far larger than they can contain. They can result from a wide range of causes, such as excessive rainfall, sudden storms, rapid melting of snow and ice, glacial melting, landslides, or cyclones. More commonly known as channel floods, this is the kind of flooding you likely think of first. Its people have adapted and build structures that resist flooding, but there are still many deaths and great damage every year from the coastal flooding. Every year during the monsoon season, cyclones crash into the nation from the Indian ocean and inundate 2/3 of the country. The nation is a giant river delta where major rivers meet and is mostly on a low floodplain.
In either event, the energy from coastal floods destroy everything in their paths, resulting in millions of dollars in property damage every year.īangladesh is a nation notorious for coastal flooding. In cases of flooding inland, the floods are often created by massive waves.įlooding towards the coast tend to be the result of flash floods, with debris often tearing into the river banks as the waters rush to the coast. Coastal (Estuarine) FloodsĬaused mainly by low barometric -pressure or high winds from one direction or channel floods from the other, coastal floods can be the result of tropical storms, cyclones, or even a secondary flooding following a tsunami. Because they can be difficult to predict, it’s very rare for a tsunami to occur without numerous casualties. This then suddenly reverses with a massive wave overtaking the coast and destroying everything in its path. Caused by undersea earthquakes and often only predicted by observing coastal wildlife, the water recedes from the coast, leaving large portions of underwater shoreline exposed. Of course, the best known and most feared form of catastrophic flood is the tsunami. As a result, these floods can often come suddenly with deadly force. These events can change the shape of the land in mere moments, shifting waterways or blocking them entirely. However, they’re more often caused by earthquakes, landslides, or volcanic eruptions.
This may be something as simple as a dam breaking.
Catastrophic FloodsĪs the name implies, this is when a sudden change in the environment or infrastructure results in major flooding. In some cases, the amount of water reaches dangerous depths.Ĭountries which have rainy seasons often suffer from this kind of flood, either because the ground has become too packed from drought conditions to absorb the water or because storms occur with so much frequency the land doesn’t have time to drain. Solid concrete or rock, as well a frozen ground, can also prevent water from soaking into the ground. Areal floods result when there’s so much rainfall or melting snow that the surface soil is unable to absorb any more. This type of flood is very common in flatter areas where the water table is shallow.
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