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What causes floods?

Flooding is a problem all over the world and it happens for some different reasons. However, the question which everyone always has is – what causes floods? Namely, there are a few reasons why flooding happens, some of them are even caused by humans. The main one for which humans are responsible are infrastructures with poor designs. On the other hand, flooding can occur due to natural reasons as well. If you are interested in what causes floods, both by humans and by nature, keep reading.

What causes floods – Eight human and natural reasons

Heavy Rains

Heavy rains are the simplest and most obvious cause of flooding. It doesn’t matter where you live. All infrastructure and water systems move rainwater to basins and reservoirs for that purpose. Usually, these systems work without a fault and you never have to worry about a potential flooding situation. However, when the rain starts falling heavily, a problem might arise. Namely, large amounts of rain can overwhelm these infrastructures and systems. Because of this, they cannot drain the water nearly as quick as it needs to be drained.

rain - what causes floods
Heavy rains are a common cause of flooding

To make it short, this means that the system for draining becomes backed up and the water starts to rise. Unfortunately, sometimes the water rises into homes. Typically, this happens only in situations of continuous rainfall over a longer period of time. However, you probably still want to be insured against it. If this is the case, check out insurance claims adjuster Florida. They will help you figure out what kind of insurance is best for your home. Also, they will provide you with all the necessary information, tips, and trick about how all of that works.

Moreover, heavy amounts of rain can sometimes be too much for your roof to handle. Since the dangers of a leaking roof can be very serious, don’t overlook it. Therefore, make sure you check if your roof is sturdy enough for heavy rain.

Rivers can overflow

Unfortunately, heavy rain isn’t the only thing which can lead to flooding in your area. For instance, if there is a river close to your home you may just be in danger of a flood. Specifically, this can happen if the area upstream from where you live goes through heavy rain on a regular basis. Because of this, you should think about getting flood damage insurance claims. If you do this, you will save yourself from a lot of stress in an unfortunate situation of a flood.

river in nature
Rivers can overflow

Moreover, larger rivers usually have a series of dams which are supposed to manage larger amounts of rain. Also, most of these systems on rivers are managed by government authorities. However, these government authorities have a tough job of operating these systems and sometimes it just cannot be successful. In fact, heavy rains are one of the common natural disasters in Florida. Often times, managing the heavy rainfall is highly possible, but unfortunately, not always.

Dams can get damaged and broken

Most of the infrastructures on rivers date back to the 20th century. Therefore, most of these systems are becoming pretty old and worn out. Because of this, older dams can fail to manage large amounts of rainfall. Unfortunately, this leads to unimaginable amounts of water gushing into unsuspecting homes. What is even worse are the consequences of flooding. In order to avoid this, make sure you research and get the best insurance you can find since it is a serious problem.

Drainage basins in urban areas

Many urban cities have predominantly concrete and similar waterproof materials for infrastructures. Because of all this concrete, there is no ground for water to sink into when heavy rain starts. Therefore, what causes floods in the low-lying areas is when these basins for draining get overwhelmed. However, this is usually the case only in larger urban areas, like Houston or Los Angeles. Namely, these drainage basins simply cannot hold the load when heavy rains strike.

Big storms and tsunamis

Although rain is often a big part of what causes floods, it isn’t always the main culprit. Hurricanes and similar bigger storms can cause a significant amount of flooding. Also, underwater earthquakes often times lead to tsunamis which almost always result in flooding. However, since we live in these modern times, scientists can often predict the arrival of storm surges and tsunamis. Still, this isn’t always the case. In an example, there was an earthquake in Indonesia in 2004 which created a powerful tsunami but gave no warning signs. Because of this, if you live in an area close to water or with heavy rains, always prepare for a flood.

a tsunami wave
Scientists can predict tsunamis

Steep-sided channels

Channels with steep sides are also what causes floods. Namely, since the sides of the channels are often too steep, there are sometimes fast runoffs into lakes or rivers. Therefore, these and similar water reservoirs become overwhelmed with a large amount of water and this is what causes floods in the end.

A lacking amount of vegetation

Vegetation plays a really important part in the prevention of floods. Namely, it can help slow down the runoff of water and either put off or completely prevent flooding. However, if the vegetation around the rivers or lakes close to you is lacking, not much can stop a flood. Usually, the lack of vegetation occurs after a drought. While most people will gladly welcome rain after a drought, it won’t be so when nothing can stop the floods. Specifically, the lack of vegetation in these situations can lead to flash flooding. Also, this doesn’t always happen in the case of the basins and reservoirs being empty or close to empty. Yet, it can also occur when long periods of droughts follow extreme amounts of rain.

When ice and snow start to melt

If you often experience winter time with a lot of ice and snow, you better prepare for floods in spring. This is understandable since ice and snow have to melt when it gets warmer and the water has to go somewhere. More often, this is a case in mountain areas since they experience more snowfall than the rest.

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