This time from Duchesne County in Utah. No injury or deaths reports have come in. A coastal flood, as you might guess, happens in coastal areas. That coastline can be that of an ocean, gulf, sea, or any other massive body of water. Coastal flooding is typically caused by weather such as a strong storm, tropical system, or excess runoff.
Storm Surge A storm surge occurs when strong wind from a hurricane or storm pushes water toward shore, resulting in extreme tidal conditions. Coastal flooding can be as small as beach erosion or as large as the devastating storm surges that destroy homes, businesses, and roads. Posted by WeatherNation on Saturday, September 9, Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Severe Weather Risk for the Eastern U.
Low amounts of green space. The most well-known and deadly type of flood is a flash flood. What is a Flash Flood? A flash flood is flooding that begins within 6 hours, and often within 3 hours, of heavy rainfall or other cause. What Causes Flash Floods? Most flash floods happen after extremely intense rainfall from severe thunderstorms over a short period of time normally 6 hours or less.
There are two key elements to determine is flash flooding is likely:. Rainfall rate. Rainfall duration. Flash floods also happen when damns break, when levees fail, or when an ice jam releases a large amount of water.
Dangers of Flash Floods. Flash flooding is the 1 severe weather killer in the United States. Flash floods are extremely powerful. They have enough force to roll boulders, tear trees from the ground, destroy buildings and bridges, and scour out new channels.
This type of flood is characterized by raging torrents that rip through river beds, urban streets, or canyons, wiping out everything in their paths. With heights reaching 30 feet, flash floods can completely cover communities. Another reason why flash flooding is so dangerous is that it can happen with little to no warning.
This is especially true when dams or levees break. They also recommend having a family or business disaster plan ready in the case of a flash flood. If you read through the above section on types of floods, you might just want to skip down to flooding effects. As we mentioned above, there are plenty of different causes of flooding.
While different flood types typically have different causes, most floods are caused by one of the following activities. Heavy rainfall is the simplest cause of flooding. This can result in floods like flash flooding. Overflowing rivers are another cause of floods. As we mentioned before, river flooding can happen when there is debris in the river or dams that block the flow of the water.
Speaking of dams, broken dams are another cause of flooding. Older infrastructure can fail when heavy rains come and water levels rise. When dams break, they unleash torrents of water on unsuspecting households. This is part of what happened when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in Storm surge and tsunamis also cause flooding. Storm surges from hurricanes and other tropical systems can cause sea levels to rise and cover normally dry coastal areas in several feet of water.
Tsunamis on the other hand are giant waves caused by earthquakes or underwater volcanic eruptions. As these waves move inland, they build height and can push a lot of water inland in coastal areas.
Channels with steep banks are also to blame for flooding. Flooding often occurs when there is fast runoff into lakes, rivers, and other basins. This is often the case with rivers and other channels that feature steep sides. A lack of vegetation can cause flooding. Vegetation can help slow runoff and prevent flooding. When there is a lack of vegetation, there is little to stop water from running off and overflowing river banks and streams.
Melting snow and ice is another common reason for flooding. No matter what causes of a flood, it can have devastating effects on your community. There are actually many dangerous flooding effects.
Besides physical danger, floods also cause economic and social problems. The gravest effect of flooding is death. In fact, flooding is the number one severe weather killer. Floods have claimed thousands of lives throughout history. But how does flooding kill? Floods kill by carrying people away in fast-moving water or drowning them. It only takes six inches of water to wash a person away. Floods can also kill people by destroying buildings and creating unsafe environments.
One often-overlooked deadly effect of flooding comes from waterborne illnesses. From to , the National Weather Service recorded hundreds of flooding deaths across the United States. Texas saw most of those deaths, with the 8-year total sitting at fatalities. Since it only takes two feet of flood water to wash a car away, flooding can also cause great loss of property.
This is why it is so important to avoid flooded areas when driving. Flooding also causes property damage to buildings by blowing out windows, sweeping away doors, corroding walls and foundations, and sending debris into infrastructure at a fast pace.
Not to mention the furniture and items inside a home or business that are damaged when flood waters make it inside. The economic impact of flooding can be devastating to a community.
This comes from damage and disruption to things like communication towers, power plants, roads, and bridges. This brings business activities in an area to a standstill. Oftentimes, major flooding results in dislocation and dysfunction of normal life long after flood waters recede.
Flooding hinders economic growth and development because of the high cost of relief and recovery associated with floods. In frequently flooded areas, there is less likely to be any investment in infrastructure and other developed activities.
Flooding can also create lasting trauma for victims. The loss of loved ones or homes can take a steep emotional toll, especially on children. While floods have many causes, there are proven flood safety and flood prevention tips to help keep families, businesses, and communities safe.
Here are some steps you can take before, during, and after flooding to keep yourself and those you care about safe. The first thing you should do before a flood is assemble an emergency kit. Your flood emergency kit should include food, water, and medicine.
You should pack a supply of these items that will last each person three days. You should also put the following in your kit:.
Phone Charger. First Aid Kit. Rubber Boots and Gloves. You should also have a cell phone on hand. This way, you can communicate with your friends, family, and coworkers. In most cases, the infrastructure does its job, and you never have to think about where the rain goes when it runs off.
In short, the drainage systems back up, and the water rises — sometimes into homes. This typically happens only in cases of sustained heavy rains over a long period. You do not necessarily need to have heavy rains to experience flooding in your area.
For example, if you live along a river and areas upstream from you experience heavy rains, it could lead to a serious overflow where you live. Most larger rivers include a series of dams to help manage large amounts of rainfall, and most river systems are managed by government authorities.
Sometimes, however, those authorities have to make tough decisions about how to operate dams. They often can manage the water and prevent flooding altogether — but not always. When heavy rains come, and water levels rise, aging dams can fail and unleash torrents of water on unsuspecting households. This is part of what happened after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in Levees failed and made the flooding far worse than it would have been otherwise.
While we have come to depend on 20th-century architecture, and much of it does its job well, there is always a possibility that a structure will fail.
Many of our cities are made of mostly concrete and other impermeable material. When you have an urban drainage basin that is made of concrete, there is no ground for water to sink into. So, when those drainage basins fill up, it is going to mean flooding for low-lying areas. This is mostly the case in large urban areas — think Houston and Los Angeles.
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