Science Unit 5 Lesson 9 Flashcards
About 25 percent of flood insurance claims come from areas of low to moderate flood risk, why is this?
Flooding can occur in any part of the U.S. and no area is immune to the possibility of floods.
What are flood mitigation techniques?
Strategies used to manage and control the movement of floodwaters
homeowners can protect their homes from floods:
elevating the home
relocating furnaces, water heaters, and electric panels
installing check valves
sealing walls in the basement
using sandbags
How can elevating house structures protect homes from floods?
Elevating structures helps to protect them from damaging waves and flooding caused by hurricanes or strong storms.
Where is elevating homes useful?
In areas on the coast where homes are built very close to the shoreline.
How does strategic placement of certain equipment in homes help to reduce flood damage?
Equipment such as furnaces, water heaters, and electric panels can be installed or relocated so they are elevated and not in the direct path of stormwater that may flood into a home.
How does installing check valves help homes with flooding?
installing check valves, which help to prevent floodwaters from backing up into the drains of a home, can be a flood mitigation strategy for
homeowners.
How can homeowners protect their basements during floods?
Sealing walls and floors in basements helps to keep floodwaters from seeping in through cracks.
How can sandbagging protect houses from flooding?
Sandbags act as a barrier that reroutes moving water around homes instead of through them. Placing sandbags in front of doorways and other openings helps to prevent floodwaters from coming inside homes.
How do you prepare sandbags properly?
Only sand should be used in bags. Coarse sand is best. Staggering the bags on top of one another and placing the bags tightly together helps to make them successful in protecting homes.
What are floodplains?
Floodplains are low-lying areas next to rivers that are prone to flooding
What is a stratgery of floodplain mangement?
One strategy of floodplain management is to relocate homes off of thefloodplains.
Cities must work with homeowners to develop plans to relocateexisting homes and businesses outside of the floodplain
How can enforcing bulding codes and regulation help to reduce flood damage?
Enforcing building codes and regulations is a task cities must undertake in order to reduce flood damages. Cities must work together with citizens to develop regulations that restrict development and commercial,activity on floodplains.
What is an example of bulding codes and regulation to help reduce flood damage?
Building codes in some cities require that basements be eliminated and the first floor be raised above the expected flood level.
What is stromwater management?
Stormwater management is a common practice in developed cities where there is more infrastructure than natural landscape to soak up the rainwater.
Stormwater management works to reduce the amount of rainwater runoff or melted snow from streets and other hard surfaces
ways to reduce and reroute stormwater:
- Increasing storm drainage capacity helps keep stormwater from flooding
into streets. - Some cities develop retention and detention basins to help
control flooding. - Retention basins hold water and release it slowly back
into the ground, while detention basins are empty areas where cities can
channel excess stormwater.
How do greenspaces play a part in stormwater management?
A key part of stormwater management is directing water from hard surfaces to green spaces to allow absorption to take place. Ultimately, water absorbed into soil helps to replenish aquifers underground while also helping to mitigate flood damages. Implementing more green spaces is a proactive way urban cities can manage excess stormwater.
How can seawals help with floods?
Seawalls are a flood mitigation technique used mainly on the coast to protect coastal cities from floods caused by large surge waves. These hard structures are usually constructed of rocks or concrete and run along the shoreline. Seawalls help to reduce wave energy and strength.
How do the US Army Crops of Engineer help out with floods?
- the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) helps state and local governments to reduce damages from floods and promote flood management.
- Additionally, the USACE takes action to educate the public about flood risks and ways that citizens can decrease their risks.
- The USACE also manages about 700 dams across the country, including in Puerto Rico.
- Flood control dams work by trapping floodwaters. Dams release floodwater in a controlled manner to the river below the dam, or they store or reroute water for other purposes.
What does the Federal Emergency Management Acency do?
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also works with state and local governments to assist with flood mitigation.
- In addition to contributing funds to the costly recovery efforts after floods, FEMA works with communities to find solutions, such as flood diversion, to help reduce flood damages.
- Flood diversion includes rerouting floodwater from rivers, streams, or other bodies of water into green spaces (such as wetlands or floodplains) by means of canals and tunnels.
- Diverting water to green spaces helps reduce overflowing of rivers and allows the floodwater to infiltrate the soil and replenish aquifers. Ultimately, this can increase water supply and water quality.
Describe Floodplain management.
Floodplains, or flat areas of land near rivers or streams, stretch from river banks to the edges of the valley. Floodplains can be managed by limiting economic and natural resource losses. Land use regulations include preserving open space, relocating buildings, restoring wetlands, and establishing zoning codes, or rules for development.
Describe stormwater management.
When areas with a lot of pavement and buildings experience large amounts of precipitation, storm drains and sewer systems quickly become overloaded since water cannot naturally soak into the ground. Cities can manage stormwater through green infrastructure such as permeable pavement, tunneling, and underground drainage networks.
Describe Detention basins.
A detention basin, or dry pond, does not have a permanent pool of water. It has a large collection area for water. The water then slowly drains out through an outlet at the bottom of the basin.
