Natural Disasters

Natural Disasters are disasters that occur in this world naturally. Natural disasters can happen at any location at any time throughout the universe. Natural disasters can destroy cities, or sometimes a whole country if it is that severe.

They can occur on land, in the water, and with the weather.

Floods
Floods are water covering previously dry area. A flood is a very large amount of water that has overflowed from a source such as a river, lake, and ocean. The damages after a flood is harsh because everything or parts of things will be under water and the effects of a flood can kill many people.

Kinds of Floods
Flooding can also be divided into different categories according to their location: Coastal Floods Coastal Floods usually occur along coastal areas. When there are hurricanes and tropical storms which will produce heavy rains, or giant tidal waves created by volcanoes or earthquakes, ocean water may be driven onto the coastal areas and cause coastal floods. River Floods This is the most common type of flooding. When the actual amount of river flow is larger than the amount that the channel can hold, river will overflow its banks and flood the areas alongside the river. And this may cause by reasons like snow melt or heavy spring rain. Urban Floods In most of the urban area, roads are usually paved. With heavy rain, the large amount of rain water cannot be absorbed into the ground and leads to urban floods.

Benefits
There are many disruptive effects of flooding on human settlements and economic activities. floods (in particular the more frequent/smaller floods) can bring many benefits, such as recharging ground water, making soil more fertile and providing nutrients in which it is deficient. Flood waters provide much needed water resources in particular in arid and semi-arid regions where precipitation events can be very unevenly distributed throughout the year. Freshwater floods in particular play an important role in maintaining ecosystems in river corridors and are a key factor in maintaining floodplain biodiversity

The damage due to flood may vary with respect to the magnitude of the flood. Thus we can classify the effects as:

Primary effects Physical damage - Can range anywhere from bridges, cars, buildings, sewer systems, roadways, canals and any other type of structure. Casualties - People and livestock die due to drowning. It can also lead to epidemics and diseases. Secondary effects Water supplies - Contamination of water. Clean drinking water becomes scarce. Diseases - Unhygienic conditions. Spread of water-borne diseases

Urban Areas
Massive amounts of erosion can be accomplished by flood waters. Such erosion can undermine bridge structures, levees, and buildings causing their collapse. Water entering human built structures cause water damage. Even with minor flooding of homes, furniture is ruined, floors and walls are damaged, and anything that comes in contact with the water is likely to be damaged or lost. Flooding of automobiles usually results in damage that cannot easily be repaired. Gas and electrical service may be disrupted. Water supply pipes/ system get damaged and wells get inundated creating shortage of drinking water.

Rural Areas
Flooding of farmland usually results in crop loss. Livestock, pets, and other animals are often carried away and drown. Transportation systems may be disrupted, resulting in shortages of food and cleanup supplies. Food grains stored at home or in godowns get wet and start rotting. In under developed countries food shortages often lead to starvation

The affected communities living in temporary shelters/ resettlements have limited or no access to safe drinking water, food etc. In addition, prevailing unhygienic sanitary conditions make it conducive for spread of food and waterborne diseases.

Reasons for flood

Heavy rainfall Huge snow melting Failures of dams, barrages etc.,(koshi) Landslides causing blockage of river

Flood Control
Structural Measure
Storage Reservoir Levees Floodways Channel Improvement Watershed Management

Non-Structural Measure
Flood Plain zoning Flood forecasting and Warning Evacuation and relocation

-Flood is

on of deadliest natural disaster. -Preventive measures to be taken in time. -Better engineering structures to prevent flood control -Stringent government steps. -Awareness on flood disaster is required.