Floods occur when there is an excess amount of water occuring from one of these main places: rainfall, rivers rising, ice melting, tides due to the moon and tsunamis. (1) When there's excess amounts of water the ground can't absorb it fast enough so it all runs off. Hurricanes cause a mass amounts of flooding because there's heavy rainfall and storm surges. Coastal areas are perfect for flooding, especially during storm season. Coastal regions are normally at a lower elevation which adds to the likeliness of a flood.
A flood impacts the environment greatly. When flooding is severe it damages homes and businesses. When homes and businesses are destroyed it puts many dangerous toxins into the environment, like paint, pesticides and gasoline.(4) Floods wash things away and weaken foundations. Floods can cause raw sewage to spew into the environment putting toxins and other harmful things into it. (4) Even though floods are mostly bad for the environment, they do spread sediments around, which is a good thing.
Flooding can cause people major problems. It can ruin homes and work places causing people thousands of dollars worth of damage. Floods can cause people to get evicted from their homes.(4) Thousands of people lose their life due to flooding every year. (5) Floods also impact the economy too. Water damage ruins many businesses causing lots of money in repairs. When a flood wipes out an entire city it puts the economy on standstill. Often the government has to step in and provide money to help repair costs for the floods, also causing economic changes. (5)
Satelites are used to predict when floods will be happening. Based on the radar, meteorologists can see if large rainfall is due. If conditions are right for a flood, a warning will be set out. In the US flood warnings are made by the National Weather Service if it is a large scale flood. Warnings are set out when a flood is expected within 12-48 hours. (6) Warnings are broadcasted over television and radio frequently and locally, sirens may go off.
Bibliography
1. http://clearlyexplained.com/nature/earth/disasters/floods.html Clearlyexplained.com. Floods. ©2000-2011 R.Conan-Davies.
2. http://www.google.com/imgres?q=flood+zone
3.http://www.google.com/imgres?q=flood+zone+map&hl=en&biw=1140&bih=562&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=ibm__Hi2lx3Y7M:&imgrefurl=http://floridiandiscountinsurance.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/flood-insurance/florida
4. http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00758/en/disaster/flood/effects.html. ThinkQuest. Effects of Floods.
5. http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/02054/effects.htm. ThinkQuest. Effects of Floods.
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