Causes and Effects of Flooding (Water)

Question 1

what are the meteorological causes of flooding? (3)

Answer 1

1. intense or prolonged rainfall
2. monsoon rainfall
3. snowmelt

Question 2

how can intense or prolonged rainfall cause flooding?

Answer 2

a series of midlatitude depressions passing over the same place can cause a build up of river. the ground may intially absorb the water, but throughflow and groundwater flow cannot transfer the water quickly enough for the ground to become saturated. then the only transfer is runoff.

Question 3

how can monsoon rainfall cause flooding?

Answer 3

warm, moist air blows towards india, sri lanka, bangladesh and Myanmar, bringing terrentail rainfall. this happens because the ITCZ moves northwards and the warm, moist air follows it

Question 4

how can snowmelt cause flooding?

Answer 4

rapid rises in temprature causes rapid snowmelt, resulting in increase surface runoff and flash floods

Question 5

what are human causes of flooding?

Answer 5

1. changing land use

2. mismanagement of rivers

Question 6

how does changing land use causes flooding?

Answer 6

vegetation removal for development can increase runoff. deforestation reduces interception and evapotranspiration therefore more runoff so water reaches river channel faster.

Question 7

Socio-economic impacts of Hurricane Katrina (4)

Answer 7

1. 1800 deaths
2. $108 billion in damage
3. 80% of New Orleans flooded
4. By 2014, the number of homes and buisnesses had not reached pre-2005 levels

Question 8

What happened to flood protection during Hurricane Katrina?

Answer 8

50 failures of levees and flood walls protectin New Orleans, with 20 breeches along the Mississippi

Question 9

What have investiagators concluded caused extensive flooding in New Orleans?

Answer 9

inadequate design and construction of levees and flood walls by the Army Corps of Engineers

Question 10

What was the result of the flood wall breeches during hurricane Katrina?

Answer 10

flood water was allowed to flood into the city even though water levels never reached the height of the wall

Question 11

What were the metrological causes of the 2007 UK summer depressions?

Answer 11

1. Unseasonablly low pressure due to the movement of the jet stream
2. no recession time due to two consecutive months of rain

Question 12

Human causes of the 2007 UK summer depressions?

Answer 12

1. urban development

2. river mismanagement

Question 13

How did urban development cause the 2007 UK summer depressions?

Answer 13

1. building on flood plains
   - 10,000 homes built per year
   - 5.2 million properties at risk
2. urbanisation
   - impermeable surfaces

Question 14

How did river mismangement cause the 2007 UK summer depressions?

Answer 14

1. no flood defences

2. Tributaries squeezed into culverts leaving little space to expand during flooding

Question 15

How many homes in the UK were flooded during storm Eva?

Answer 15

9000

Question 16

How much damage did storms Desmond and Eva do to the UK?

Answer 16

£5.8 billion

Question 17

What caused storms Desmond and Eva?

Answer 17

low pressure systems brought by a meander in the jet stream which brought mild, moist air

Question 18

What were the metrological causes of flooding in Canada 2017?

Answer 18

unseasonably high temperatures causes snow to melt and increase in river discharge

Question 19

What were the human causes of the flooding in Canada 2017?

Answer 19

Canada’s rate of warming is twice that of the global rate

Question 20

Socio-economic impacts of Snowmelt in Canada 2017?

Answer 20

1. at least two deaths
2. £1.5 billion in damages
3. 3600 people evacuated

Question 21

Example of intense and prolonged rainfall causing flooding?>

Answer 21

November 2013 thunderstorms on the Island of Sardinia caused flash flooding resulting in 18 deaths and $1.14 billion in damage

Question 22

Example of monsoon rainfall causing flooding?

Answer 22

July 2015 heavy monsoon in Myanmar caused 103 deaths

Question 23

Example of snowmelt causing flooding?

Answer 23

In 2009, Red River ND USA reached record flood levels as a result of snowmelt