Effects of Flood Damages
The generally accepted definition of a flood is a body of water covering land usually dry under normal circumstances. Common natural calamities include floods. They interfere with lives of millions of people across the globe. Identified negative effects include; they destroy premises, influence soil erosion and contaminate water for drinking. Floods result from many causes among them overflowing lakes, rivers as well as seas. Flooding is as old a human life. Civilization resulted from human being occupying riverbanks and bays. The reason was simple as human life needs water.
Flooding also carries its good side in spite of the many negative effects. The land around river Nile in Egypt for instance, became fertile due to the nutrients deposited by floods every year The deposition took place way before Aswan high Dam was put up to control the floods. Although human life suffers much, floods deposit fertile soil in Bangladesh during the monsoon season. It is besides the fact that so many lives are lost in the process.
Floods always hit land next to rivers and water masses at yearly. Rains result in more water for rivers to carry. Melting of snow in the mountains where most rivers have sources is another cause for floods. Flash floods are caused by thunderstorms. The capacity of rivers becomes ten more times their usual strength. Usually, those that flow slowly carry silt, sand and water. In the process, they put up their beds. This result in them being higher than the surrounding land. Rivers in Chicago are such examples.
The rate at which rivers in Phoenix AZ erects develops floods is slow but results devastating. More land stands affected. Coastal rivers such as those in Fort Myers are also on the receiving end of floods. Floor tsunamis that result from earthquakes on the ocean lead to more than 15-meter high waves. With this height, flooding spreads to miles away. A tsunami in the Indian claimed more than 250,000 people. Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia are some of the countries that felt the effects.
Cyclones, hurricanes as well as tropical storms are other causes of destructive floods. Just like in Chicago, Hurricane Katrina produced massive flooding in the entire Mississippi Delta. The effect was felt in Fort Myers and Phoenix AZ. Participating agencies did well to evacuate people as damages and ravages would have been more. Low-lying areas and countries are in a permanent danger of flooding. These areas are common in the Netherlands. Haiti was compounded and almost crashed by floods.
What people do in many ways contributes to floods. No one disputes the role of trees and plants in protecting the world from the effects of excessive water. Deforestation leaves rainwater to flow through barren land. These actions cause mudslides during rainy seasons. Dangerous cracks on dams by excess water are evident. The result is total breakage of the wall. Many methods are developed o take care of the effects of floods. Water in Netherlands is controlled by erected dams and dykes.
