Causes of flood

Urban flooding has become a major problem in many parts of the world due to its social, economic and environmental impact. In Ghana, flood occurs every year, which adversely affects livelihoods, property, infrastructure, lives and renders many people homeless. In this paper, we aim to understand the current state of flood research in Ghana, focusing on how the scholarly community has approached the causes, effects/impact, and the coping strategies adopted by people in the urban setting. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review, combined with individual co-author in-depth experience in research and practice in Ghana, we searched academic database such as SCOPUS, Web of Science, Springer, Taylor and Francis, Science Direct and Google scholar for recent studies. Our results, on the basis of 33 articles, indicate that poor urban planning and development (number of reported articles, n = 18), poor and inadequate drainage facilities ( n = 11), poor environmental attitude ( n = 10) and extreme rainfall ( n = 8) are the top causes of urban flood in Ghana. The most commonly reported impacts/effects were physical cost ( n = 7), destruction of economic infrastructure ( n = 5) and health concerns ( n = 4). The most reported coping strategies were relocation and protection of properties ( n = 9) and construction of drains ( n = 8). The review also pointed out critical research gaps in the context of Ghana and suggested a new area for future research direction and practice. One of t...

Floods are the most frequent type of natural disaster and occur when an overflow of water submerges land that is usually dry. Floods are often caused by heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt or a storm surge from a tropical cyclone or tsunami in coastal areas. Floods can cause widespread devastation, resulting in loss of life and damages to personal property and critical public health infrastructure. Between 1998-2017, floods affected more than 2 billion people worldwide. People who live in floodplains or non-resistant buildings, or lack warning systems and awareness of flooding hazard, are most vulnerable to floods. There are 3 common types of floods: • Flash floods are caused by rapid and excessive rainfall that raises water heights quickly, and rivers, streams, channels or roads may be overtaken. • River floods are caused when consistent rain or snow melt forces a river to exceed capacity. • Coastal floods are caused by storm surges associated with tropical cyclones and tsunami. Between 80-90% of all documented disasters from natural hazards during the past 10 years have resulted from floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, heat waves and severe storms. Floods are also increasing in frequency and intensity, and the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation is expected to continue to increase due to climate change. Drowning accounts for 75% of deaths in flood disasters. Flood disasters are becoming more frequent and this trend is expected to continue. Drowning risks increas...

Floods have been making headlines almost on a monthly basis during summer seasons in recent years. In July 2021, Western Germany and Belgium experienced devastating flash floods that killed hundreds of people. Days later, China’s Henan province saw severe flooding that paralysed entire cities and more than a million residents displaced. The following month, Japan battled unprecedented amounts of rainfall and flooding, which triggered mudslides that left multiple people dead. It’s clear that large-scale flooding has become more frequent and severe. But what is causing the upward trend and what are long term effects of floods? — What are the Different Types of Floods? Before we examine the causes and effects of floods, it’s important to note that various types of floods can occur worldwide. There are two types of floods that are most common: flash floods and river floods. Flash floods, as the name suggests, are the rapid rise of water levels from excessive rainfall in low-lying areas. These weather events are incredibly dangerous and can often lead to fatalities due to their destructive power and incredible speed, often not giving people enough time to escape to higher grounds or adopt protective measures. Flash floods tend to be more common in areas with a dry climate and rocky terrain due to lack of soil or vegetation, which acts as a defence or barrier against torrential rains flowing overland. JOIN THE MOVEMENT TODAY River flooding on the other hand, occurs when a river ...

Why Do Basements Flood? 1. A Cracked Water Supply Line/Tank Image By: Flystock, Shutterstock The most common causes of a flood in your basement are tiny cracks in the hot-water tank and the supply line. The tank is also known to fail once in a while, and that can lead to a disaster as well. Now, while flash floods usually happen during the wet season (spring, to be exact), cracks in the supply line are more common in winter. The colder it is outside, the higher the chance of a pipe bursting. When water freezes, it starts to slowly yet steadily expand, and once it reaches a critical point, the tanks, tubes, and pipes begin to crack. So, how do you avoid this? By insulating the pipes, of course! Heat cables and heat tape have proven to work. Also, try to keep the basement warm 24/7. 2. A Leakage in the Pipes Even when there isn’t a single broken pipe in your house, leaks can still happen. This time around, it will be the central sewer system to blame. Maybe some of its pipes are clogged or cracked. Or it could be that it’s simply under a lot of pressure and a bit overwhelmed. A quick tip: to make sure it is, indeed, an “outside problem”, keep your eyes on the sinks, bathrooms, and flood drains. If you notice water backing up, and it’s happening quickly, that means the municipal sanitary sewers are malfunctioning. The same is true if you have a private septic tank. In any case, the water will be really dirty with a bad odor. How do you fix this? Call a plumber. They’ll tell y...

Floods are among disasters that cause widespread destruction to human lives, properties and the environment every year and occur at different places with varied scales across the globe. Flood disasters are caused by natural phenomena, but their occurrences and impacts have been intensified through human actions and inactions. The practice of flood disaster management have evolved over the years from traditional approaches of ad-hoc response measures to integrated approaches involving technologically advanced tools in flood disaster awareness, preparedness and response measures. This chapter proffers understanding into flood disaster awareness, preparedness and management, mitigation and adaptation strategies. Most importantly, the chapter presents a review on the relevance of modern technological tools namely Geographic Information System, Remote Sensing, Internet of Things and Big Data, that are available to flood managers, in the creation of efficient early warnings and Flood decision support systems that elevates the resilience of societies to flood disasters. 1. Introduction Disasters can result from forces of nature which may be aided by human actions. Some disasters build up slowly while others may happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Flood disasters can be classified among the quick and sudden disaster types, but are among few in this category that can be well predicted, anticipated and controlled to a great extent. Floods, like other disasters, do not qualify to be la...

Why is it that some places flood and others don’t? Here we investigate what causes floods. One area might receive a lot of rain and won’tflood while in other areas the same amount of rainfall can wreak havoc, destroying homes, businesses and the natural environment. Take the Boxing Day floods of 2015, for example. The north of England and Scotland saw thousands of homes and businesses wrecked and people forced to move and flee their homes. But why did it happen? Well, in the aftermath of the floods, teachers at Causes of floods Lead teacher Anil Sarna asked hislocal Year 5 and Year 6 pupils to see if they could work out what causes flooding, testing what they learnt using a series of experiments. Ask your teacher if you could try this experiment, too! “First, we discussed how features in a landscape can influence the way water descends from the high lands into valleys where flooding occurs,” Anil explained. –Trees maintain the soil structure, while deforestation increases erosion and makes the land less ‘permeable’ (less able to soak up water) – Straight rivers speed up water descent, while meandering ones slow it down – Plants hold the water back, while water rushes off concrete or paved built-up areas Anil and his team invited local kids to make model landscapes and experiment to see how much water collected in the ‘valleys’. Two tables were set up at 30° angles with waterproof bags at the bottom to collect water. Then a green fleece blanket was placed on on...