Floods: What are, causes and consequences

A flood is a Massive occupation for water of areas that were dry. The factors that flow into a flood can be Temporary ascent of the level of a river, lake or sea. Although sometimes they are inevitable, sometimes floods can be situations that can be controlled by human activity, due to the misuse of land near water channels.

It is estimated that floods are catastrophe or natural disaster that More deaths provokes on the planet. During the twentieth century, it has been estimated that about 3.2 million people have lost their lives for this cause, which constitutes more than half of the victims due to natural disasters during the same period.

In addition, there are various types of floods, which can be classified as follows:

• Storm floods: These types of floods occur as a result of strong rainfall concentrated in a particular area. The high concentration of rain makes the terrain saturate and surplus water begins to accumulate, which can last hours or days, until it begins to evaporate and the terrain recovers.
• River floods: This kind of flood occurs when river water overflows and reaches the land close to the channel.
• Coastal floods: They occur as a consequence of intense winds such as a stormy cyclone. This flood enters coastal areas and covers large extensions of land.

The main causes of floods are multiple, but in general, we can classify them in natural or as a consequence of human activity:

Natural causes of floods

• Intense rainfall: They can be due to rains, tropical storms or hurricanes. These floods can be produced as a result of the increase in rivers levels. The greater the amount of water fallen and the more rainfall, the higher the probability of water overflows. To contain these problems, dams or dikes are often built that store a large amount of water of different slopes. This water can then be released to supply plantations, irrigation lands or generate energy. In this article we explain the torrential rain: causes, consequences and what to do.
• Sediment accumulation: These accumulations form large containment barriers for water, which according to the amount (and pressure) of water ends up overflowing, leaving large amounts of water mixed with sludge, trunks or stones.
• Snow fusion in high mountains: The snows accumulated during the winter are normally merged during spring, but if there are strong heat waves, this process accelerates, to the point of being able to increase sea levels or rivers and make them invade the earth.
• Forest destruction.
• Tsunamis: They take place as a consequence of earthquakes in the sea. This causes marine plates to move, generating large water waves that can exceed water levels on the coast and invade the earth.

Human causes of floods

• Deforestation: Due to human activities, forests and jungles are massively talked, which is a big problem, because the vegetation retains large amounts of water, which releases the rainfall once finished.
• Water channels in cities that overflow with rainfall.
• Different Constructions in cities carried out in areas too close to the sea or the rivers or constructions that are carried out in areas previously occupied by the sea or the rivers. As a consequence, when different natural phenomena occur, water can flood the lands.
• Ruptures of dams or dikesthat release large amounts retained from water.
• Waste of garbage or materials that plug the river channels.
• Climate changewhich can accelerate other processes such as snow fusion.

Many of these phenomena can be classified as natural and human at the same time. In addition, frequently the causes of floods are a combination between human and natural phenomena such as tsunamis and constructions too close to the sea.

• Economic: Floods cause the loss of large amounts of material goods, to which the cost of reconstructing infrastructure must be added. They can also be global, for example, that the damaged country has a great loss of a certain product, which makes less offer, prices increase and other countries must meet that demand with its exports. In addition, they can make people stay homeless, for destruction of their homes.
• ENVIRONMENTAL: Damage to agricultural land, damage to crops and food production. In addition, floods also spread pollution, damaging animals and human beings.
• Health: Floods increase the risk of fecal-oral transmission diseases and transmits pathogens such as malaria, dengue, leptospirosis, jungle yellow fever or cholera. People can also suffer injuries as a result of fallen trees, electric lines or other waste.

Now that you know what floods are, we recommend you read this article about cold drop or meteorological Dana: what is, how it is formed and effects.

If you want to read more articles similar to Floods: What are, causes and consequenceswe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.