Chris+L+Floods+In+Australia

=__Australian Floods__=
 * __Chris L__**
 * A Flash Flood Seen On Right**

Australia has had a long history of floods, the first recorded flood being in Maitland in 1806. The most severe was in Gundagai in 1852, costing 89 lives.
This map below shows the average places where floods occur (red). Floods occur in a lot of the world, and can be regular parts of life for people.

The most common forms of Floods. River Flood - River floods can be caused by melting snow, or wet weather. They can take time to form, smaller streams forming into larger rivers which can cause damage to the community.

Flash Floods - Flash floods are more dangerous than river floods. They are more spontanious and more destructive (in most cases). they happen when the ground becomes so saturated it can not absorb any more water.

cylclones and hurricanes can also cause flooding.

Floods can be very destructive, leaving communities severely damaged, such as the 1971 Snowy river flood. Read Below.

Submission to the Snowy Water Inquiry

Saving the Throwaway River //"The Snowy Catchment is heritage country in the full sense of that term, and the river should be the jewel in the crown."// May 1998
 * Professor George Seddon**

'The Orbost Flats have a dual water problem, that of too much, and too little. Periodic floods have been enormously destructive, and the Snowy Scheme has not eliminated flooding. The 1971 floods were the worst yet recorded, and the most awesome for any Victorian river, with an instantaneous flow of some 650,000 megalitres per day. Levees line the banks, and sedimentation has raised the level of the bed.'



The February flood of 1971 of the snowy river peaked at where the man's hand is in this link (Bottom Picture). The other level markings from previous floods indicate how much bigger the 1971 flood was.

Picture Link: http://www.bom.gov.au/hydro/flood/vic/brochures/flood_watch/flood_watch.shtml

Floods can be very dangerous, costing hundreds of lives and injuring hundreds, they can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and wreck community's and leave hundreds of people homeless. Floods can also bring disease from contamination in the water. Another example of the damage of floods is the January 1974 Brisbane flood, which recorded 1,318 mm of rain. This flood cost 16 lives, whilst injuring 300 more. The total damage caused by the flood left 8,000 people homeless and costed approximately 980 million dollars to repair.


 * Tips for coping with flood**

Check wether your insurance covers floods. Make sure you know how to turn of your gas, water and electricity supplies. Prepare a kit filled with rations, a first aid kit, torch (battery or wind up), clothing, blankets and a list of your important contact numbers. Move precious items to a safe place.

The SES helps with flood relief, so they are who you would call if you needed help.

It is also a good idead to get to higher ground.


 * Environmental Damage**

Floods can severely damage the environment releasing toxic chemicals into our rivers, lakes, bays and the ocean. This can kill hundreds of marine animals. They can also cause coastal erosion, leading to more frequent floods if not repaired.




 * Bibliography**

[|**http://www.publicadjustersr.com/images/flood_pmfq.jpg**]

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