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Floods in Australia Seb Charnock 8A

Features of a Flood
A flood is when some normally dry land is partially or completely inundated (generally in water). Floods can be caused by a few things; overflowing or breaking of a watercourse, tidal influences and most commonly, too much precipitation. Different forms of flood and causes are;
 * Flash floods-These are floods which occur within six hours of heavy rainfall, these are very dangerous, because there is less time for evacuation, they can be caused by cloud bursts,storms and cyclones.
 * River floods-They occur when a river ofverfloows, generally because of precipitation, this can happen over a few weeks.
 * Coastal floods-Caused by cyclones and hurricanes that happen along the coast and can be very catastrophic.
 * Other floods may occasionally be caused by artificial water holders breaking.

Flash Flood

River Flood

Coastal Flood

Floods occur in most parts of the world, but are most common in Australia, India, Egypt, France, the UK, Thailand, South Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Human Effects of a Flood
The Melbourne flood on the 13th of February in 2005 was catastrophic, the city recorded 23 percent of it's yearly rainfall in the one day. The flood affected railways airports and many roads, trees and power lines were also brought down. Because of this 120,000 homes lost power, making it harder for the people to call emergency services. The police, ambulances, fire services and other emergency services received

People and livestock an drown, sewage systems can be damaged, water gets contaminated and increases risk of disease (so floods also heavily affect health).

The financial repair costs would be extremely large, and there would be chaos because of the damage done to the buildings and roads, and the emergency services wouldn't be able to help everyone.

Road being broken by flood.

Environmental Effects of a Flood
Floods pose a large threat to the environment, they destroy crops, plants, they can uproot trees and also cause animal death. The only environmental benefit of a flood is that the flood brings good nutrients to the soil.

If a flash flood came through an area in witch animals were living, the animals would most likely drown or get swept away. This has happened many times in australia, most likely in every flood.

Responses to the Threat of the Flood
If there is a risk of a flood, or a predicted flood, people will be warned. If it is a flash flood, people will have much less time to evacuate and emergency services will be sent to help. There will be some places were people will not be allowed to build homes and buildings because of flood risk.

To prevent river floods the government can use sandbags or portable inflatable tubes, stopping water from overflowing. The State Emergency Services (SES) play an important role in helping and rescuing people from emergencies like floods.

SES helping out in a flood.

The Australian government has a flood warning section on their website, so if a flood is predicted, people can easily find out (if they have access to that website).

If there was a flood I would recommend calling emergency services immediately, and get to high ground. It is important to stay out of the water because the water may pose a serious health risk. If you live in an area were floods are common, it would be good to have a flood plan and a prepared survival kit (including first aid and a phone).

Small Flash Flood Video
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