S.P.

KUGAN
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
DISASTER MANAGEMENT-FLOOD
22B210
312207127
A flood is an overflow of water (or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry.
[1]
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 concern in agriculture, civil
engineering and public health. Human changes to the environment often increase the intensity
and frequency of flooding, for example land use changes such as deforestation and removal of
wetlands, changes in waterway course or flood controls such as with levees, and larger
environmental issues such as climate change and sea level rise. In particular climate
change's increased rainfall and extreme weather events increases the severity of other causes for
flooding, resulting in more intense floods and increased flood risk.[2][3]
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,[4] 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 changes
in precipitation and snow melt, these changes in size are unlikely to be considered significant
unless they flood property or drown domestic animals.
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. Flooding can lead to secondary consequences in
addition to damage to property, such as long-term displacement of residents and creating
increased spread of waterborne diseases and vector-bourne disesases transmitted by mosquitos.[5]

Types

Areal
.
Floods can happen on flat or low-lying areas when water is supplied by rainfall or snowmelt
more rapidly than it can either infiltrate or run off. The excess accumulates in place, sometimes
to hazardous depths. Surface soil can become saturated, which effectively stops infiltration,
where the water table is shallow, such as a floodplain, or from intense rain from one or a series
of storms. Infiltration also is slow to negligible through frozen ground, rock, concrete, paving, or
roofs. Areal flooding begins in flat areas like floodplains and in local depressions not connected
to a stream channel, because the velocity of overland flow depends on the surface
slope. Endorheic basins may experience areal flooding during periods when precipitation
exceeds evaporation.[6]

River flooding
Floods occur in all types of river and stream channels, from the smallest ephemeral streams in
humid zones to normally-dry channels in arid climates to the world's largest rivers. When
overland flow occurs on tilled fields, it can result in a muddy flood where sediments are picked
up by run off and carried as suspended matter or bed load. Localized flooding may be caused or
exacerbated by drainage obstructions such as landslides, ice, debris, or beaver dams.
Slow-rising floods most commonly occur in large rivers with large catchment areas. The increase
in flow may be the result of sustained rainfall, rapid snow melt, monsoons, or tropical cyclones.
However, large rivers may have rapid flooding events in areas with dry climates, since they may
have large basins but small river channels, and rainfall can be very intense in smaller areas of
those basins.

Flash flood in Ein Avdat, Negev, Israel

Rapid flooding events, including flash floods, more often occur on smaller rivers, rivers with
steep valleys, rivers that flow for much of their length over impermeable terrain, or normally-dry
channels. The cause may be localized convective precipitation (intense thunderstorms) or sudden
release from an upstream impoundment created behind a dam, landslide, or glacier. In one
instance, a flash flood killed eight people enjoying the water on a Sunday afternoon at a popular
waterfall in a narrow canyon. Without any observed rainfall, the flow rate increased from about
50 to 1,500 cubic feet per second (1.4 to 42 m3/s) in just one minute.[7] Two larger floods
occurred at the same site within a week, but no one was at the waterfall on those days. The
deadly flood resulted from a thunderstorm over part of the drainage basin, where steep, bare rock
slopes are common and the thin soil was already saturated.
Flash floods are the most common flood type in normally-dry channels in arid zones, known
as arroyos in the southwest United States and many other names elsewhere. In that setting, the
first flood water to arrive is depleted as it wets the sandy stream bed. The leading edge of the
flood thus advances more slowly than later and higher flows. As a result, the rising limb of
the hydrograph becomes ever quicker as the flood moves downstream, until the flow rate is so
great that the depletion by wetting soil becomes insignificant.
Coastal flooding
Main article: Coastal flooding
Coastal areas may be flooded by storm surges combining with high tides and large wave events
at sea, resulting in waves over-topping flood defenses or in severe cases by tsunami or tropical
cyclones. A storm surge, from either a tropical cyclone or an extratropical cyclone, falls within
this category. A storm surge is "an additional rise of water generated by a storm, over and above
the predicted astronomical tides".[8] Due to the effects of climate change (e.g. sea level rise and
an increase in extreme weather events) and an increase in the population living in coastal areas,
the damage caused by coastal flood events has intensified and more people are being affected.[9]
Flooding in estuaries is commonly caused by a combination of storm surges caused by winds and
low barometric pressure and large waves meeting high upstream river flows.

Urban flooding

Flooding on Water Street in Toledo, Ohio, 1881

Urban flooding is the inundation of land or property in a built environment, particularly in more
densely populated areas, caused by rainfall overwhelming the capacity of drainage systems, such
as storm sewers. Urban flooding is a condition that is characterized by its repetitive and systemic
impacts on communities, that can happen regardless of whether or not affected communities are
located within designated floodplains or near any body of water.[10] It is triggered for example by
an overflow of rivers and lakes, flash flooding or snowmelt. During the flood, stormwater or
water released from damaged water mains may accumulate on property and in public rights-of-
way, seep through building walls and floors, or backup into buildings through sewer pipes,
toilets and sinks.
In urban areas, flood effects can be exacerbated by existing paved streets and roads, which
increase the speed of flowing water. Impervious surfaces prevent rainfall from infiltrating into
the ground, thereby causing a higher surface run-off that may be in excess of local drainage
capacity.[11]
Catastrophic
Catastrophic riverine flooding can result from major infrastructure failures, often the collapse of
a dam. It can also be caused by drainage channel modification from
a landslide, earthquake or volcanic eruption. Examples include outburst
floods and lahars. Tsunamis can cause catastrophic coastal flooding, most commonly resulting
from undersea earthquakes.

Causes

Flood due to Cyclone Hudhud in Visakhapatnam

Floods are caused by many factors or a combination of any of these generally prolonged heavy
rainfall (locally concentrated or throughout a catchment area), highly accelerated snowmelt,
severe winds over water, unusual high tides, tsunamis, or failure of dams, levees, retention
ponds, or other structures that retained the water. Flooding can be exacerbated by increased
amounts of impervious surface or by other natural hazards such as wildfires, which reduce the
supply of vegetation that can absorb rainfall.
During times of rain, some of the water is retained in ponds or soil, some is absorbed by grass
and vegetation, some evaporates, and the rest travels over the land as surface runoff. Floods
occur when ponds, lakes, riverbeds, soil, and vegetation cannot absorb all the water.
This has been exacerbated by human activities such as draining wetlands that naturally store
large amounts of water and building paved surfaces that do not absorb any water.[12] Water then
runs off the land in quantities that cannot be carried within stream channels or retained in natural
ponds, lakes, and human-made reservoirs. About 30 percent of all precipitation becomes
runoff[13] and that amount might be increased by water from melting snow.
River flooding is often caused by heavy rain, sometimes increased by melting snow. A flood that
rises rapidly, with little or no warning, is called a flash flood. Flash floods usually result from
intense rainfall over a relatively small area, or if the area was already saturated from previous
precipitation.
Periodic floods occur on many rivers, forming a surrounding region known as the flood plain.
Even when rainfall is relatively light, the shorelines of lakes and bays can be flooded by severe
winds—such as during hurricanes—that blow water into the shore areas.

Upslope factors
The amount, location, and timing of water reaching a drainage channel from natural precipitation
and controlled or uncontrolled reservoir releases determines the flow at downstream locations.
Some precipitation evaporates, some slowly percolates through soil, some may be temporarily
sequestered as snow or ice, and some may produce rapid runoff from surfaces including rock,
pavement, roofs, and saturated or frozen ground. The fraction of incident precipitation promptly
reaching a drainage channel has been observed from nil for light rain on dry, level ground to as
high as 170 percent for warm rain on accumulated snow.[14]
Most precipitation records are based on a measured depth of water received within a fixed time
interval. Frequency of a precipitation threshold of interest may be determined from the number
of measurements exceeding that threshold value within the total time period for which
observations are available. Individual data points are converted to intensity by dividing each
measured depth by the period of time between observations. This intensity will be less than the
actual peak intensity if the duration of the rainfall event was less than the fixed time interval for
which measurements are reported. Convective precipitation events (thunderstorms) tend to
produce shorter duration storm events than orographic precipitation. Duration, intensity, and
frequency of rainfall events are important to flood prediction. Short duration precipitation is
more significant to flooding within small drainage basins.[15]
The most important upslope factor in determining flood magnitude is the land area of the
watershed upstream of the area of interest. Rainfall intensity is the second most important factor
for watersheds of less than approximately 30 square miles or 80 square kilometres. The main
channel slope is the second most important factor for larger watersheds. Channel slope and
rainfall intensity become the third most important factors for small and large watersheds,
respectively.[16]
Time of Concentration is the time required for runoff from the most distant point of the upstream
drainage area to reach the point of the drainage channel controlling flooding of the area of
interest. The time of concentration defines the critical duration of peak rainfall for the area of
interest.[17] The critical duration of intense rainfall might be only a few minutes for roof and
parking lot drainage structures, while cumulative rainfall over several days would be critical for
river basins.

Downslope factors
Water flowing downhill ultimately encounters downstream conditions slowing movement. The
final limitation in coastal flooding lands is often the ocean or some coastal flooding bars which
form natural lakes. In flooding low lands, elevation changes such as tidal fluctuations are
significant determinants of coastal and estuarine flooding. Less predictable events like tsunamis
and storm surges may also cause elevation changes in large bodies of water. Elevation of flowing
water is controlled by the geometry of the flow channel and, especially, by depth of channel,
speed of flow and amount of sediments in it[16] Flow channel restrictions like bridges and
canyons tend to control water elevation above the restriction. The actual control point for any
given reach of the drainage may change with changing water elevation, so a closer point may
control for lower water levels until a more distant point controls at higher water levels.
Effective flood channel geometry may be changed by growth of vegetation, accumulation of ice
or debris, or construction of bridges, buildings, or levees within the flood channel.

Coincidence
Extreme flood events often result from coincidence such as unusually intense, warm rainfall
melting heavy snow pack, producing channel obstructions from floating ice, and releasing small
impoundments like beaver dams.[18] Coincident events may cause extensive flooding to be more
frequent than anticipated from simplistic statistical prediction models considering only
precipitation runoff flowing within unobstructed drainage channels.[19] Debris modification of
channel geometry is common when heavy flows move uprooted woody vegetation and flood-
damaged structures and vehicles, including boats and railway equipment. Recent field
measurements during the 2010–11 Queensland floods showed that any criterion solely based
upon the flow velocity, water depth or specific momentum cannot account for the hazards caused
by velocity and water depth fluctuations.[20] These considerations ignore further the risks
associated with large debris entrained by the flow motion.[21]
Some researchers have mentioned the storage effect in urban areas with transportation corridors
created by cut and fill. Culverted fills may be converted to impoundments if the culverts become
blocked by debris, and flow may be diverted along streets. Several studies have looked into the
flow patterns and redistribution in streets during storm events and the implication on flood
modelling.[22]
Climate change

High tide flooding is increasing due to sea level rise, land subsidence, and the loss of natural
barriers.[23]

Due to an increase in heavy rainfall events, floods are likely to become more severe when they
do occur.[25]: 1155 The interactions between rainfall and flooding are complex. There are some
regions in which flooding is expected to become rarer. This depends on several factors. These
include changes in rain and snowmelt, but also soil moisture.[25]: 1156 Climate change leaves soils
drier in some areas, so they may absorb rainfall more quickly. This leads to less flooding. Dry
soils can also become harder. In this case heavy rainfall runs off into rivers and lakes. This
increases risks of flooding.[25]: 1155

Intentional flooding
The intentional flooding of land that would otherwise remain dry may take place for military,
agricultural, or river-management purposes. This is a form of hydraulic engineering.
Agricultural flooding may occur in preparing paddy fields for the growing of semi-aquatic rice in
many countries.

Flooding for river management may occur in the form of diverting flood waters in a river at
flood stage upstream from areas that are considered more valuable than the areas that are
sacrificed in this way. This may be done ad hoc, as in the 2011 intentional breach of levees by
the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Missouri,[26] or permanently, as in the so-
called overlaten (literally "let-overs"), an intentionally lowered segment in Dutch riparian levees,
like the Beerse Overlaat in the left levee of the Meuse between the villages
of Gassel and Linden, North Brabant.
Military inundation creates an obstacle in the field that is intended to impede the movement of
the enemy.[27] This may be done both for offensive and defensive purposes. Furthermore, in so
far as the methods used are a form of hydraulic engineering, it may be useful to differentiate
between controlled inundations (as in most historic inundations in the Netherlands under
the Dutch Republic and its successor states in that area[28][29] and exemplified in the
two Hollandic Water Lines, the Stelling van Amsterdam, the Frisian Water Line, the IJssel Line,
the Peel-Raam Line, and the Grebbe line in that country) and uncontrolled ones (as in the second
Siege of Leiden[30] during the first part of the Eighty Years' War, the flooding of the Yser
plain during the First World War,[31] and the Inundation of Walcheren, and the Inundation of the
Wieringermeer during the Second World War). To count as controlled, a military inundation has
to take the interests of the civilian population into account, by allowing them a
timely evacuation, by making the inundation reversible, and by making an attempt to minimize
the adverse ecological impact of the inundation. That impact may also be adverse in
a hydrogeological sense if the inundation lasts a long time.[32]
[35][36]

Negative impacts

Flooded walnut orchards in Butte County after several

atmospheric rivers hit California in early 2023
Floods can also be a huge destructive power. When water flows, it has the ability to demolish all
kinds of buildings and objects, such as bridges, structures, houses, trees, and cars. Economical,
social and natural environmental damages are common factors that are impacted by flooding
events and the impacts that flooding has on these areas can be catastrophic.[37]
There have been numerous flood incidents around the world which have caused devastating
damage to infrastructure, the natural environment and human life.[37] Flood risks can be defined
as the risk that floods pose to individuals, property and the natural landscape based on specific
hazards and vulnerability. The extent of flood risks can impact the types of mitigation strategies
required and implemented.[38]
Floods can have devastating impacts to human societies. Flooding events worldwide are
increasing in frequency and severity, leading to increasing costs to societies.[37] A large amount
of the world's population lives in close proximity to major coastlines,[39] while many major cities
and agricultural areas are located near floodplains.[40] There is significant risk for increased
coastal and fluvial flooding due to changing climatic conditions.[41]

Economic impacts
The primary effects of flooding include loss of life and damage to buildings and other structures,
including bridges, sewerage systems, roadways, and canals. The economic impacts caused by
flooding can be severe.[40]
Every year flooding causes countries billions of dollars worth of damage that threatens the
livelihood of individuals.[42] As a result, there is also significant socio-economic threats to
vulnerable populations around the world from flooding.[42] For example, in Bangladesh in 2007, a
flood was responsible for the destruction of more than one million houses. And yearly in the
United States, floods cause over $7 billion in damage.[43]
.
Flood waters typically inundate farm land, making the land unworkable and preventing crops
from being planted or harvested, which can lead to shortages of food both for humans and farm
animals. Entire harvests for a country can be lost in extreme flood circumstances. Some tree
species may not survive prolonged flooding of their root systems.[44]
Flooding in areas where people live also has significant economic implications for affected
neighborhoods. In the United States, industry experts estimate that wet basements can lower
property values by 10–25 percent and are cited among the top reasons for not purchasing a home.
[45]
According to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), almost 40 percent
of small businesses never reopen their doors following a flooding disaster.[46] In the United
States, insurance is available against flood damage to both homes and businesses.[47]
Economic hardship due to a temporary decline in tourism, rebuilding costs, or food shortages
leading to price increases is a common after-effect of severe flooding. The impact on those
affected may cause psychological damage to those affected, in particular where deaths, serious
injuries and loss of property occur.

Health impacts
Fatalities connected directly to floods are usually caused by drowning; the waters in a flood are
very deep and have strong currents.[48] Deaths do not just occur from drowning, deaths are
connected with dehydration, heat stroke, heart attack and any other illness that needs medical
supplies that cannot be delivered.[48]
Injuries can lead to an excessive amount of morbidity when a flood occurs. Injuries are not
isolated to just those who were directly in the flood, rescue teams and even people delivering
supplies can sustain an injury. Injuries can occur anytime during the flood process; before,
during and after.[48] During floods accidents occur with falling debris or any of the many fast
moving objects in the water. After the flood rescue attempts are where large numbers injuries can
occur.[
Communicable diseases are increased due to many pathogens and bacteria that are being
transported by the water.There are many waterborne diseases such as cholera, hepatitis
A, hepatitis E and diarrheal diseases, to mention a few. Gastrointestinal disease and diarrheal
diseases are very common due to a lack of clean water during a flood. Most of clean water
supplies are contaminated when flooding occurs. Hepatitis A and E are common because of the
lack of sanitation in the water and in living quarters depending on where the flood is and how
prepared the community is for a flood.[48]
When floods hit, people lose nearly all their crops, livestock, and food reserves and face
starvation.[49]
Floods also frequently damage power transmission and sometimes power generation, which then
has knock-on effects caused by the loss of power. This includes loss of drinking water
treatment and water supply, which may result in loss of drinking water or severe water
contamination. It may also cause the loss of sewage disposal facilities. Lack of clean water
combined with human sewage in the flood waters raises the risk of waterborne diseases, which
can include typhoid, giardia, cryptosporidium, cholera and many other diseases depending upon
the location of the flood.
Damage to roads and transport infrastructure may make it difficult to mobilize aid to those
affected or to provide emergency health treatment.
Flooding can cause chronically wet houses, leading to the growth of indoor mold and resulting in
adverse health effects, particularly respiratory symptoms.[50] Respiratory diseases are a common
after the disaster has occurred. This depends on the amount of water damage and mold that
grows after an incident. Research suggests that there will be an increase of 30–50% in adverse
respiratory health outcomes caused by dampness and mold exposure for those living in coastal
and wetland areas. Fungal contamination in homes is associated with increased allergic rhinitis
and asthma.[51] Vector borne diseases increase as well due to the increase in still water after the
floods have settled. The diseases that are vector borne are malaria, dengue, West Nile,
and yellow fever.[48] Floods have a huge impact on victims' psychosocial integrity. People suffer
from a wide variety of losses and stress. One of the most treated illness in long-term health
problems are depression caused by the flood and all the tragedy that flows with one.