Main causes of flooding Flashcards
1
Q
What is flooding?
A
when river discharge is so high that the river spills over its banks onto the floodplains
2
Q
How does prolonged rainfall cause flooding?
A
makes the ground saturated, so further rainfall can’t infiltrate which increases surface runoff and discharge
3
Q
How does heavy rainfall cause flooding
A
rapid surface runoff if the rainfall is too intense for infiltration to occur. Leading to a sharp rise in river discharge
4
Q
How does snow/ice melt cause flooding
A
Leads to a huge increase in a river’s discharge.
