Question

What is a flood? List the causes and the effects for a flood.

Answer 1

A flood is an overflow of water on land. Sometimes a river might receive extra water, either from heavy rains or other natural disasters. When this happens, the water overflows from its normal path in the river bed and onto the dry land.

Causes of flood are:

• During a flood, people should move themselves and their most precious belongings to higher ground quickly. The process of leaving homes in search of a safe place is called evacuation. Floods occur at irregular intervals and vary in size, duration and the affected area.
• Water naturally flows from high areas to low lying areas. This means low-lying areas may flood quickly before it begins to get to the higher ground.
• 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.

Effects of flood are:

• Loss of life and property
• Flooding of crops
• Soil erosion
• Diseases and epidemics