Earth Science Guided Reading and Study Workbook Section 20.3 Severe Storms
What is a Flood?
Believe it or non, flooding is the deadliest type of severe weather. In that location's probably a lot about floods and flooding yous don't know.
In this guide, nosotros'll become over everything in that location is to know nigh flooding; answering common questions similar "What causes flooding?" and "Where does flooding occur?"
Use the buttons beneath to spring to the overflowing facts you intendance about the most, or read the entire Flooding 101 guide to get an expert!
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What is a Inundation? | Types of Floods
When discussing floods, it's of import to sympathise what they are. Let'southward commencement with a flooding definition.
A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry. Floods are an area of study in the discipline of hydrology. They are the most common and widespread natural severe conditions event.
Floods tin can look very different because flooding covers anything from a few inches of water to several feet. They tin also come on quickly or build gradually. To meliorate answer the question of "What is a inundation?" we'll answer what each specific type of flooding result is.
Co-ordinate to our friends at the National Astringent Storms Laboratory, there are five types of floods. They include:
River Inundation
Coastal Inundation
Storm Surge
Inland Flooding
Flash Inundation
Equally you can infer from the list above, flooding can happen anywhere, including both littoral and inland locations. Let's take a detailed look at the different types of floods.
What is a River Flood?
The starting time type of flooding nosotros will explore is river flooding.
What is River Flooding?
A river flood occurs when water levels ascent over the peak of river banks. This flooding can happen in all river and stream channels. This includes everything from small streams to the world's largest rivers.
Causes of River Flooding
River flooding typically happens for four reasons. They are:
Excessive rain from tropical storm systems making landfall
Persistent thunderstorms over the same expanse for extended periods
Combined rainfall and snowmelt
Ice jam
More than on Riverine Floods
River floods tin can happen suddenly or slowly. Sudden river flooding events occur more than ofttimes on smaller rivers, rivers with steep valleys, rivers that menstruum for much of their length over impermeable terrain, and normally dry channels.
On the other hand, low-rising river floods typically occur in big rivers with large catchment areas. In case you didn't know this already, a catchment area is whatever area of state where atmospheric precipitation collects and runs off into a common outlet.
What is a Coastal Alluvion?
The next type of flood you should know nigh is a coastal flood.
What is Littoral Flooding?
A coastal flood is the inundation of normally dry land areas forth the coast with seawater.
Causes of Coastal Flooding
Coastal flooding is typically a result of a combination of sea tidal surges, loftier winds, and barometric pressure.
These conditions typically come from storms at ocean like:
Tropical cyclones
Seismic sea wave
College-than-average tides
What is Storm Surge?
Another blazon of flooding that is frequently associated with littoral flooding is tempest surge.
What is Storm Surge?
Storm surge is an aberrant rise in water level in coastal areas over and in a higher place the regular astronomical tide.
Causes of Storm Surge
Storm surge is always a issue meteorological storms that cause higher than normal tides on the declension. There are three parts of a storm that create this surge. They are:
Wind
Waves
Depression atmospheric pressure
Larn nearly storm surge from one of our expert meteorologists, Andrew Rosenthal in the below snippet from our conditions condom warmup webinar on hurricanes:
More on Tempest Surge
Tempest surge is an extremely dangerous form of flooding. It can flood large littoral areas at the same time. It can too crusade flooding very quickly.
Extreme flooding occurs when storm surge happens at the same time as high tide. This can cause storm tides to reach over 2o feet!
Our meteorologists always stress that tempest surge is the most dangerous aspect of whatsoever tropical organisation. It poses the well-nigh threat to both life and property. In the past, we've seen truly devastating storm surge impacts. For instance, storm surge took the lives (directly and indirectly) of over 1,500 people during Hurricane Katrina.
What is Inland Flooding?
The next blazon of flood on our list is an inland overflowing. Some organizations refer to inland flooding every bit urban flooding. A flash inundation is also a blazon of inland flood.
What is an Inland Flood?
An inland flood is flooding that occurs inland or non in a coastal area. Therefore, coastal flooding and tempest surge are not inland floods.
Causes of Inland Flooding
Rainfall is near always to blame for inland floods. Rain causes inland flooding in ii ways. It can happen with steady rainfall over several days or it tin happen because of a short and intense flow of rainfall.
Snowmelt also causes inland floods, although rainfall is a more than common crusade.
Another way inland flooding happens is when water means get blocked by debris, ice, or dams.
More on Inland Floods
Inland floods are often worse in urban areas because in that location isn't anywhere for the water to go. The following urban features can create urban flooding or brand inland floods worse:
Paved roads and streets
Depression-capacity drainage equipment
Dense buildings
Low amounts of green infinite
What is a Flash Flood?
The most well-known and deadly type of flood is a flash flood.
What is a Wink Flood?
A flash alluvion is flooding that begins within 6 hours, and oftentimes within 3 hours, of heavy rainfall (or other cause).
What Causes Wink Floods?
Flash floods can happen for several reasons.
Most flash floods happen subsequently extremely intense rainfall from astringent thunderstorms over a curt period of fourth dimension (normally 6 hours or less). There are two key elements to decide is flash flooding is likely:
Rainfall charge per unit
Rainfall duration
Flash floods besides happen when damns suspension, when levees neglect, or when an water ice jam releases a large amount of water.
Dangers of Wink Floods
Flash flooding is the #1 severe weather killer in the United States.
Flash floods are extremely powerful. They have plenty force to ringlet boulders, tear trees from the footing, destroy buildings and bridges, and scour out new channels. This blazon of flood is characterized past raging torrents that rip through river beds, urban streets, or canyons, wiping out everything in their paths. With heights reaching 30 feet, flash floods tin can completely cover communities.
Some other reason why flash flooding is and then unsafe is that information technology can happen with little to no warning. This is peculiarly true when dams or levees break.
The National Conditions Service recommends knowing your area'due south flood risk earlier a flash flooding event happens. They as well recommend having a family or business disaster programme ready in the instance of a flash inundation.
Flood Causes & Furnishings
No matter what blazon of flood you're dealing with, they are generally acquired past the same fundamental factors and there are always negative effects.
In this section, we'll embrace the basic causes and effects of flooding to help you better understand this dangerous meteorological and hydrological phenomenon. If yous read through the above section on types of floods, you might just want to skip down to flooding effects.
What Causes Flooding?
Every bit we mentioned above, at that place are plenty of dissimilar causes of flooding. While different inundation types typically accept dissimilar causes, most floods are acquired by ane of the following activities.
Heavy rainfall is the simplest cause of flooding. When there is too much pelting or it happens too fast, at that place but isn't a place for it to get. This can upshot in floods like flash flooding.
Overflowing rivers are another crusade of floods. You don't necessarily demand heavy rains though to experience river flooding. As we mentioned before, river flooding can happen when there is debris in the river or dams that block the menses of the h2o.
Speaking of dams, broken damsare another cause of flooding. Older infrastructure can fail when heavy rains come up and h2o levels ascent. When dams break, they unleash torrents of h2o on unsuspecting households. This is part of what happened when Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans in 2005.
Tempest surge and tsunamis also cause flooding. Storm surges from hurricanes and other tropical systems tin cause body of water levels to rising and comprehend normally dry littoral areas in several anxiety of water. Tsunamis on the other manus are behemothic waves caused past earthquakes or underwater volcanic eruptions. Equally these waves move inland, they build height and tin push a lot of water inland in coastal areas.
Channels with steep banks are likewise to blame for flooding. Flooding often occurs when in that location is fast runoff into lakes, rivers, and other basins. This is oft the case with rivers and other channels that feature steep sides.
A lack of vegetation tin can cause flooding. Vegetation can help irksome runoff and prevent flooding. When there is a lack of vegetation, in that location is piffling to stop water from running off and overflowing river banks and streams.
Melting snow and ice is another mutual reason for flooding. When a big amount of snow and/or ice melts speedily, information technology often doesn't take somewhere to go except low-lying areas.
These aren't all the reasons that flooding can happen, but they are some of the almost common.
Flooding Effects
No matter what causes of a flood, it can have devastating effects on your community. In that location are actually many dangerous flooding furnishings. Too physical danger, floods too cause economic and social problems. In this department, nosotros'll cover the most common flood furnishings.
Loss Of Lives
The gravest effect of flooding is death. In fact, flooding is the number one severe atmospheric condition killer. Floods have claimed thousands of lives throughout history. But how does flooding impale?
Floods impale by carrying people away in fast-moving h2o or drowning them. It simply takes six inches of h2o to launder a person away. Floods can also impale people past destroying buildings and creating unsafe environments. Ane often-overlooked deadly effect of flooding comes from waterborne illnesses.
From 2010 to 2018, the National Weather Service recorded hundreds of flooding deaths across the United States. Texas saw almost of those deaths, with the 8-year total sitting at 212 fatalities.
Property Damage
Since information technology just takes two feet of alluvion h2o to wash a machine abroad, flooding can also cause not bad loss of property. Surely yous've seen images of cars floating away in flood waters. This is why it is so important to avoid flooded areas when driving. You don't want to exist in your machine when it gets washed abroad in the flood!
Flooding also causes holding impairment to buildings by bravado out windows, sweeping away doors, corroding walls and foundations, and sending debris into infrastructure at a fast pace. Not to mention the piece of furniture and items inside a habitation or business that are damaged when flood waters make it inside.
Economic Impacts
The economic bear on of flooding can be devastating to a customs. This comes from damage and disruption to things similar communication towers, power plants, roads, and bridges. This brings business activities in an area to a standstill. Oftentimes, major flooding results in dislocation and dysfunction of normal life long after flood waters recede.
Flooding hinders economic growth and evolution because of the high toll of relief and recovery associated with floods.
In often flooded areas, at that place is less likely to be any investment in infrastructure and other developed activities.
Psychosocial Flooding Effects
Flooding tin also create lasting trauma for victims. The loss of loved ones or homes tin take a steep emotional price, especially on children. Displacement from one'southward abode and loss of livelihood tin cause continuing stress and produce lasting psychological impacts.
Overflowing Safety Tips
While floods have many causes, in that location are proven flood safe and inundation prevention tips to help keep families, businesses, and communities safe.
Here are some steps you tin can take before, during, and later on flooding to keep yourself and those y'all care about safe.
What Do I Do Before a Flood?
The first affair yous should do before a inundation is assemble an emergency kit. Your flood emergency kit should include food, water, and medicine. You should pack a supply of these items that will last each person iii days. You lot should also put the following in your kit:
Phone Charger
Batteries
Blankets
Flashlights
First Aid Kit
Safe Boots and Gloves
NOAA Weather Radio
You should also have a cell phone on hand. This way, yous can communicate with your friends, family, and coworkers.
The next thing you lot tin practice to ready for a inundation is research your home or system's location to assess flood gamble. Are you located in a flood plain? What's the fastest fashion to get to college ground? Knowing the answers to these questions tin can assistance you in the instance of floods.
One last flood tip we recommend is to sign upwards for flooding notifications. The National Weather Service issues Inundation Advisories, Flood Watches, and Flood Warnings to help people gear up for flooding dangers.
Familiarize yourself with your local emergency direction agency and how they communicate with your community. Exercise they have a mobile app you tin download? Should you follow them on social media? Volition an announcement about flooding air on the TV or local radio stations?
Finally, for hyperlocal weather alerts that include NWS flooding notifications, current atmospheric precipitation information, and rainfall totals in your neighborhood, you lot should wait into getting a subscription to professional-class atmospheric condition tracking software.
Overflowing Watches And Warnings
The start level of flood watches and warnings is a alluvion informational. A Flood Advisory ways y'all should be mindful of possible flooding because a weather event is forecast to occur that could consequence in flooding. The National Weather Service problems these advisories when flooding isn't expected to be bad enough to issue a alert, but could even so pose modest threats.
A Flood Watch means you should prepare for flooding because conditions are favorable for a specific chancy weather event to occur.
A Flood Alert means a chancy weather result with flooding is imminent or already happening.
Our AEM sister visitor, OneRain the Rainfall Company, specializes in helping clients empathise and manage their water-related missions, including inundation and road atmospheric condition safety. OneRain's results assist meliorate hydrologic decision making and design standards across the U.s. and the world.
OneRain created a solutions guide for overflowing forecasting and early on warning, where you can learn near overflowing resilience, planning, and how to manage inundation risks. Access the guide by clicking the button below:
Yous may be wondering, what is a Overflowing Warning System ? According to OneRain, a complete, integrated flood early alarm monitoring system solution includes all the remote site hydro-meteorological sensing instrumentation, communications equipment, central base station equipment, as well equally data collection, archiving, processing, and direction software designed for flood warning.
Contrail for Alluvion Warning is an effective OneRain software solution for flood warnings. The software continually collects and monitors rainfall, water level and flow data in streams, rivers, lakes, and dams in real fourth dimension.
A useful tool for creating a more complete view of atmospheric condition weather condition— including paradigm collection, hosting, and viewing platform— is Contrail® Camera, OneRain'due south centralized Web-based image storage and management tool that provides secure, 24×7 password-protected admission to view and manage images.
Contrail® Camera has the post-obit applications:
- Flood Early Warning
- Reservoir and Hydropower operations
- High risk/remote Dams Safety Monitoring programs
- Road Weather condition
- Flooded Roadways
- Post-wildfire burn down areas for flood early alarm
- Other environmental monitoring
Contrail is an enterprise-level software solution that continually collects and monitors rainfall, water level and flow data in streams, rivers, lakes, and dams in existent time. To learn more almost Contrail for Flood Alarm and Flood Warning Systems, click here.
The National Atmospheric condition Service provides on overview of the Preliminary United states of america flood fatalities based on media sources and Tempest Information / NWS input, showing only direct flood fatalities. It is disquisitional to remain safety during flood watches and warnings so as to avoid flood fatalities.
A Wink Flood Alert means a wink flood is imminent or occurring. If you lot are in a overflowing prone area motility immediately to high ground.
You lot should ever pay attention to these notifications and empathise what the dissimilar levels mean.
For businesses, access to real-fourth dimension alluvion watches and warnings through a hyperlocal atmospheric condition map like Sferic Maps tin can assist keep employees condom and protect outdoor equipment from being damaged during a flooding event.
What Do I Practice During a Flood?
If a flood event is happening, in that location are steps you can take to stay prophylactic. The first and well-nigh important thing to remember is to steer clear of flood waters. This is true even if yous are in a car.
Remember: Plow around, don't drown! Inundation waters can ascent or gain intensity in the blink of an center. Stay away from flood h2o at all costs.
Another important tip that will aid yous survive a alluvion is to listen to evacuation orders from authorities. Nosotros besides stress that y'all listen to evacuation orders the first time you lot hear them. Waiting even but a few minutes can be the deviation between life and death. And staying behind tin can put you and others at risk if you lot need to be rescued from rising waters.
One final useful alluvion safety tip to pay attention to during a inundation is to stay away from rooms where water covers electrical outlets. This is pretty self-explanatory; you don't desire to be electrocuted walking through your flooded home or business.
What Do I Exercise Later a Flood?
Once the inundation waters recede, you lot might think you're safe. Nevertheless, in that location are still enough of flooding dangers that can threaten your wellness and property. There are also things you should in example a flood damages your property.
One of the almost of import safety precautions later a flood is making sure your h2o is safe to drink. Groundwater may accept been contaminated during the inundation so don't assume you lot can but turn on the faucet and the h2o is condom. Local authorities will let you know if water is condom to drink or if you lot should boil it before using.
Afterwards a inundation, standing h2o is too a danger. While it might expect tame compared to a raging flood, standing h2o left backside is a convenance ground for bacteria and tin conduct toxins or chemicals. If you have to touch standing water for cleanup or any other reason, protect yourself with rubber gloves, boots, and other protective gear.
Floodwaters can also hibernate abrupt or dangerous objects, and then it'due south best to avoid going into the h2o if y'all tin can.
One concluding flood safety tip to keep in mind for after waters recede is to wait for the all clear from local officials to return to buildings or areas compromised by the flood. While your habitation or office might look safe to you, there could be major structural or electrical dangers. Always wait for the all clear.
Common Flood Locations & Worst Flooding Events
While flooding can happen anywhere in the world, at that place are certain places that are more decumbent to flooding. These locations oftentimes see the worst flooding events in history.
In this section, we'll cover where floods occur most often in the U.Southward. and and so have a wait at some of the worst floods in history.
Where Do Floods Occur in the U.South.?
Every bit we've mentioned higher up, floods tin happen anywhere in the U.S., including coastal and inland locations. Yet, there are some places that run into flooding more often than others.
FEMA compiled flooding data and produced a map of the U.S. showing where the most flooding occurred in the U.Southward. betwixt 1996 and 2013.
As you can see from FEMA's map, the Northeast, desert Southwest, Midwest and Gulf Declension see some of the most flood activity in the U.S.
In the Northeast, snowmelt and urban flooding are to blame for the high frequency of flooding events. Tropical storms as well contribute to flooding along the declension in the Northeast.
In the desert Southwest, a lot of flooding events happen during monsoon flavour. Since the ground is dry, it's tough for the ground to soak upwards water that falls at a high rate.
In the eye of the country, the Mississippi River contributes to river flooding throughout its length. Some of the flooding in the Midwest besides comes from snowmelt. It'due south a common occurrence for Mississippi River flooding to final for months. In early 2019, the Mississippi River flooded for over three months, which is longer than the famous flood of 1927 .
Along the Gulf Coast, flooding events are unremarkably caused by hurricanes and tropical systems. Hurricane Harvey is an example of a hurricane that caused a lot of flooding forth the Gulf, especially in Houston, Texas.
What Were the Worst Floods in History?
Unfortunately, some of the worst flooding events in history didn't happen and so long ago. Over the past few years, extreme flooding events have been common throughout the United States. Here'southward a list of the worst flooding events in U.S. history:
Fundamental Valley, California, 1861-1862
This flooding consequence is known as the tempest that caused California to become bankrupt . A tremendous amount of pelting lasting 43 days caused this flood and over $725 billion in damages. It even forced the state to move the capitol from Sacramento to San Francisco for six months while the city dried out!
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1889
This flooding tragedy was the upshot of a burst dam. Over two,200 people perished when the South Fork Dam failed and unleashed a 30-foot high wall of 20 million tons of water. The h2o came crashing down on the town with the force of Niagara Falls.
Galveston, Texas, 1900
It'due south hard to fathom this, but when a Category iv hurricane made landfall in Galveston, it came with storm surge that killed over 8,000 people. The " Smashing Galveston Storm " made landfall at night and, even though residents could see the storm brewing offshore, they had no thought how bad it would be. This was a total 65 years before the National Hurricane Eye was established.
Mississippi River Alluvion, 1927
The most subversive river flood in U.S. history was the Mississippi River inundation of 1927 that killed 500 and left some other 600,000 homeless throughout Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. In Vicksburg, Mississippi the river was over 80 miles wide. This is quite farthermost when compared to a normal day when the widest part of the river is just over 11 miles.
Ohio River Overflowing, 1937
The Ohio River Flood of 1937 price over $20 million in damage and was and so widespread information technology destroyed homes located 30 miles away from the riverbank.
Hurricane Camille, 1969
Some readers might retrieve this last flooding outcome on our list. Hurricane Camille was a natural disaster that acquired damage from the Gulf of United mexican states to the Mid-Atlantic. It hit the hardest in Virginia, where information technology overflowed the James River and caused widespread flooding.
Rapid City, South Dakota, 1972
The 1970s were a bad decade for flooding. The Rapid Metropolis inundation of 1972 killed 238 people and caused over $165 million in damages when flash flooding happened at night while virtually people were asleep.
Big Thompson Canyon, Colorado, 1976
The next flood on our list happened in 1976 when flash flooding from snowmelt on the Rocky Mountains combined with a high rain rate to cause extreme damage in Big Thompson Canyon , leaving 144 expressionless.
Mississippi River, 1993
Another terrible flooding issue happened on the Mississippi in 1993 when waters remained at flood stages for 81 sequent days. This flood killed over l people, destroyed l,000 homes, and covered 75 towns in flood waters. Amercement totaled more $15 billion.
Hurricane Katrina, 2005
Mayhap one of the about infamous flooding events of all time, Hurricane Katrina killed over ane,800 people when storm surge came ashore and rain amounts broke levees throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. Hurricane Katrina toll over $160 billion.
Hurricane Harvey, 2017
Hurricane Harvey caused widespread devastation in the greater Houston area. The tiresome movement of Harvey from Aug. 26-30 contributed to the subversive and deadly floods in southeast Texas. The most pelting fell in Nederland, Texas, which received more than than 60 inches of rain from Aug. 24-Sept.i. The flooding in the region displaced xxx,000 people and damaged or destroyed more than 200,000 homes and businesses.
Boosted Resources
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Source: https://www.earthnetworks.com/flooding/
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