Causes of flooding

Torrential rain

Urbanisation increases surface run-off

Causes of flooding

Dam collapse

Tsunami caused by underwater earthquake

Snow melt

Causes of flooding

Global warming

Monsoon rain

Deforestation

Managing Floods
There are two ways of managing floods to

reduce their impact

Soft engineering and hard engineering (same

as with coasts)

It is a balance of how valuable the land is, how

many people will be affected, how costly the management scheme is, and how effective + sustainable the management scheme will be

Hard Engineering
These are traditional methods of stopping floods and require complicated engineering. The Environment Agency has three options available: build flood defenses like dams, embankments and flood walls straighten and deepen the river and cut off meanders make storage areas for extra water

Dams
These trap and store

water, and let it out in a controlled way. They can generate electricity. Upstream of the dam the land floods to make a reservoir. They are expensive but very effective Makes a massive change to the ecosystem

Embankments
These are raised banks

along the river. They effectively make the river deeper so it can hold more water before it floods. They are expensive and dont look natural. They do protect the land around them.

Flood Walls
These are built around

settlements and important factories or roads. They are quite expensive and dont look very natural. They are pretty effective.

Straightening and Deepening the River

This

is called channelizing the river. It makes the water move through the river faster. So it doesnt build up and is less likely to flood. Changes the ecosystem in the river and spoils the natural look. Further downstream, where the river is not channelized the water builds up and floods.

Storage Areas
The water can be pumped

out of the river and stored in temporary lakes.

after the water in the river has gone down a bit.

Then it is pumped back in

Effective, but you need to

have a large bit of spare land that isnt used, so that you can flood it.

Area of land

Soft Engineering

Soft engineering techniques work with the river and use natural processes.

Washlands
These are parts of the

floodplain that are allowed to flood. They cant be built on. They are usually used for sports pitches or nature reserves.

Land-use Zoning
This is where land has different building

controls depending on how far away from the river it is. Land next to the river isnt allowed to be used for building, the next land can be but only for low-risk housing. The last zone is for high-risk buildings like hospitals, old peoples homes and dangerous factories

Afforestation
Afforestation

is the deliberate and planned planting of various greenery. By doing this you can increase interception and prevent the ground from becoming saturated with water. However, doing this takes up a lot of room and cannot prevent serious flooding.

Warning Systems
Warnings are issued by

the Environmental Agency so that local people can put sandbags by their homes, take furniture upstairs or evacuate the area. Warnings are given on tv, radio and the internet.