Floods can be defined as the overflow of large amounts of water that submerges land that is usually dry. This overflow could be from rivers or other bodies of water.
Floods are the most frequent type of natural disaster. Between 1998 and 2017, floods affected more than two billion people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation.
Floods are often caused by heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt or a storm surge from a tropical cyclone or tsunami in coastal areas.
They can also arise from failures of water storage structures such as dams or water diverging structures.
Floods can cause communicable diseases, damage to infrastructure and property as well as flora and fauna.
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There are three common types of floods namely, coastal floods, river floods and flash floods.
Coastal flooding is caused by a rise in sea levels due to extreme weather and high tides. Coastal flooding is expected to become a recurring and increasingly severe problem as global warming continues to be a challenge.
River flooding occurs when the water exceeds the capacity of the river mainly due to heavy rainfall over a prolonged period of time and it is one of the most common types of inland flooding. River flooding can cause significant damage to life and property.
On the other hand, flash floods occur when there is high intensity of rainfall for a short period such that the ground and the drainage system cannot absorb or intake water as quickly as it falls. This type of flood lasts for a short period of time but poses a serious threat to life and property.
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Specifically, floods are mainly caused and exacerbated by heavy precipitation resulting from tropical weather dynamics, tsunami conditions leading to floods near the coastal line, storm surges or ocean waves coming to the shore area, construction of settlements in flood plains, improper agricultural practices, inadequate design and maintenance of drainage systems and deforestation.
In terms of the environment, flooding damages plants and wildlife in its path. It also contaminates the habitats, for instance, diseases causing organisms thus pathogens as well as algae can contaminate the water supply, as well as degrading the ground water quality.
In terms of human health, floodwaters can spread diseases such as cholera in addition to being direct causes of death.
The damage on water supply infrastructure makes it difficult to supply safe drinking water.
Floods can also present a conducive environment for the growth of moulds and mildew in homes, causing respiratory illness in some people.
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The effects of floods on infrastructure include the power to bring down homes and buildings and destruction of roads, bridges, utility infrastructure such as power lines, hence cutting off electricity supply in affected areas.
Further, floodwaters can damage and block roads or other modes of transport systems, resulting in difficulties to conduct effective search and rescue operation as well as hindering the process of making available essential supplies to the affected.
In conclusion, floods can cause widespread devastation, resulting in loss of life and damages to personal property and critical public health infrastructure among others.
Therefore, attention should be given to most vulnerable people that include those living in floodplains, non-resistant buildings, lacking warning systems and lacking awareness of flood hazards.
Managing flood disasters must involve risk avoidance and risk reduction activities, which entails avoiding risk where possible, controlling risk through structural or regulatory measures, transferring risk through insurance, emergency management planning, warning systems and effective communication.
