essay on flood victims

Flood Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on flood.

Flood is one of the most dangerous natural disasters. It happens when excessive water is collected in any area. It usually happens due to heavy rainfall. India is highly prone to flood. There are many regions in the country that face this natural disaster because of the overflowing of rivers. Moreover, it also happens because of the melting of snow. Another reason for floods is when the dam breaks down. If we look at the coastal areas, the hurricanes and tsunamis are held responsible for causing floods. In this essay on flood, we will see the prevention and after-affect of flood.

In other words, whatever the cause may be, it is equally dangerous. It has a lot of harmful consequences. Flood damages the living conditions and it takes a lot of time to recover from this disaster. Therefore, the consequences of floods must be known and steps must be taken to prevent it.

After-effects of Flood

Floods interrupt with the day to day functioning of the affected area. The severe floods sometimes cause mass destruction. A lot of people and animals lose their lives due to floods. Several others are injured. Floods also bring a rise in diseases. The stagnant water attracts mosquitoes causing malaria , dengue, and more illnesses.

Furthermore, people face power cuts due to the danger of electrocution. They also have to face expensive pricing. As the supply of food and goods gets limited, the prices naturally grow higher. This creates a big problem for the common man.

Most importantly, the whole country faces economic loss. The resources needed to rescue people and tackle this disaster demands a hefty amount. Plus, the citizens lose their houses and cars which they worked all their lives for.

Subsequently, floods also hamper the environment. It causes soil erosion and this degrades the quality of the soil. We lose out on fertile soil. Similarly, floods also damage flora and fauna. They damage crops and displace trees. Thus, the measure should be taken to avoid these grave consequences.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Ways to Prevent flood

The government and citizens must work together to formulate ways to prevent floods. Proper awareness must be spread about the steps to take when floods occur. Warning systems must be set up so people get sufficient time to save themselves. In addition, areas that are more likely to have floods must have tall buildings above the flood level.

Other than that, dams must be constructed strongly. The use of cheap materials causes dams to break. The government must ensure there is a quality building of dams to prevent floods.

In short, we cannot prevent natural causes like rain and the melting of glaciers. However, we can stop the manmade causes like breaking of dams, poor drainage system, installing warning systems and more. We should take inspiration from countries like Singapore that never experience floods despite having heavy rainfall for most time of the year.

FAQ on Flood Essay

Q.1 what are the consequences of a flood.

A.1 Floods cause immense destruction. They are responsible for the loss of human and animal lives. People lose their homes and cars in floods. They also cause soil erosion and uproot of trees.

Q.2 How can we prevent floods?

A.2 Governments must take up certain measures to prevent floods. We can install flood warning systems. Make people aware of what to do in times of flood. Moreover, we can also build a proper drainage system that will ensure no waterlogging.

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What We Know About the Victims in the Kentucky Flooding

As officials braced for the death toll to climb, family members shared memories of those lost.

A flooded creek in Buckhorn, Ky., on Saturday. Credit... Jon Cherry for The New York Times

Supported by

By Shawn Hubler ,  Neelam Bohra ,  McKenna Oxenden and Ginny Whitehouse

• July 31, 2022

When the rain came, Diana Amburgey was in her double-wide trailer across from the gas station she managed in Hindman, Ky., packing for a Florida vacation. At 65, she had never learned to swim and was terrified of water, but her family had managed — “for the first time in forever,” her daughter said — to talk her into taking a family trip to the beach.

Jeanette Johnson, 65, was at home with her 12 cats in Clayhole, Ky., in the house she had grown up in, a rickety place with outdoor plumbing. She was disabled and her eyesight was failing, but her church was nearby and she had steadfastly refused her family’s entreaties to leave.

Betty Jean Estep, 67, was with her son in Isom, Ky., in the trailer that her boyfriend of 17 years gave her. As the floodwaters rose, she and her son fled uphill until she turned to him in the dark and said she could not breathe. Go get help from the neighbors, she instructed.

By the time help arrived, Ms. Estep had collapsed on the wet ground. Forty-five minutes of CPR could not save her life.

As rescue crews worked through a fresh onslaught of rain, straining to restore power and water and recover bodies, the death toll from the floods that have ravaged southeastern Kentucky stood at 37 on Monday and was expected to climb.

Gov. Andy Beshear has repeatedly said that the authorities were expecting to find bodies for weeks to come. “Many of them swept hundreds of yards, maybe a quarter-mile-plus from where they were lost,” he said on Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

County by county and home by home, local coroners have begun to confirm deaths and stunned families have begun to mourn. The victims have ranged from octogenarians to toddlers.

“People look down on Appalachians, and some people are saying the hillbillies got what they deserved,” said Tonya Gibson, a nurse practitioner in Knott County, who said she knew at least three families grieving loved ones. “But it’s not like that. These were good people, God-fearing people that loved their neighbors and looked out for each other. People don’t realize how much has been lost.”

Here is what we know so far about some of the victims.

Nellie Mae Howard, 82

Joe Engle, the sheriff of Perry County, interrupted his search for flood victims over the weekend to bury a loved one of his own in Chavies, Ky. Sheriff Engle, who is a pastor, said that walking by faith, rather than by sight, would be the theme of his sermon because that was how his great-aunt, Nellie Mae Howard, had lived.

During the storm, Ms. Howard sheltered at the home of her daughter, Patricia Collins, according to Angel Campbell, Ms. Collins’s daughter. But at around 1 a.m. on Thursday, Ms. Campbell saw a Facebook post from a cousin saying that the flood had submerged the enclave of homes where her mother lived.

As the hours passed, she learned that her mother had been found and was alive. Her grandmother’s body was discovered Friday morning.

Ms. Campbell said her mother told her that water had rushed into the living room, setting furniture and appliances afloat and eventually washing Ms. Collins and Ms. Howard out of the home. Ms. Collins became wedged up against a neighbor’s home, with loose lumber piled on top of her. It took nearly two hours for neighbors to dig her out, Ms. Campbell said.

When a search party located Ms. Howard’s body, her grandson, Chris Collins, lifted her up, Ms. Campbell said. He checked for a pulse, knowing he would find none, and cleaned the mud from her face. Then, he waited with her for hours until a rescue boat arrived.

Among Ms. Howard’s journals, the family said, were lyrics to a song by the Gaither Vocal Band carefully written in her handwriting: “When my eyes are closed in death with my Jesus I’ll be at rest. Then you’ll know I’m satisfied.”

James Miller, 73

The day before the flood hit, Ashley Collins turned 22 years old and had a video call with her adoptive parents, James and Carol Miller. Mr. Miller asked how his grandson was doing, baby-talking to Ms. Collins’s 4-month-old.

Ms. Miller, 72, sang him “You Are My Sunshine,” a reference to new pajamas covered in suns she had bought him. The next day, as the skies opened, Ms. Collins learned that her mother had tried to carry her father out to their SUV in an attempt to escape the flooding but that water flooded the vehicle and carried it away. Bed-bound for the past year after a botched back surgery, Mr. Miller could not move on his own, his daughter said.

As of Sunday afternoon, the vehicle had not yet been found, nor had Ms. Miller. But Mr. Miller’s body had been found.

“He was the best dad anyone could ask for,” Ms. Collins said. “He was constantly giving and had the biggest heart.”

Chance, Neveah, Riley Jr. and Madison Noble

All four of the Noble children were quiet and shy at first, but the closer they became to someone, the more they would talk, said Brandi Smith, their aunt, who confirmed their deaths after they were swept away from their parents in floodwaters in Knott County.

Madison, 8, was the oldest. She loved teddy bears and playing with Barbies, and she had started to love going to school. Riley Jr., 6, could talk about dinosaurs all day and loved playing with cars.

“They were the sweetest kids you could ever meet,” Ms. Smith said.

Neveah, 4, would sing all day long. When she was not singing, Ms. Smith said, she would “talk your head off.”

And Chance, who had just turned 2, was a “mommy’s boy” who loved his playtime.

“They loved their mommy and daddy and they always wanted to be right with them,” Ms. Smith said. “I miss my sweet little nieces and nephews. I pray God helps me through this because I love and miss them so bad.”

Rita Hall, 78

Rita Hall’s body was found inside the one-story house where she had lived for decades in Hindman, Ky., according to Curtis Hall, her son.

Tiny and sociable, with a weakness for estate auctions and yard sales, Ms. Hall, who had epilepsy, often relied on a walker and a cane to get around, but took pride in fending for herself after her grown children moved to Michigan, her son said. She was unmarried and lived alone.

“She was such a loving person,” Mr. Hall said. “If you were leaving her house, she would always want to know where were you going and ‘Can I ride with you?’ When I called, she was all, ‘Tell the kids I love them.’ She was just this short little pudgy woman who loved everyone.”

Rosie Vick, 55

Rosie Vick and her husband, Randall, were at home in Pine Top, Ky., when the storm hit, in the little creekside house they rented from his cousin on what had been the family homestead. Developmentally disabled, Ms. Vick was known in her husband’s family for her lively sense of humor and her fierce appetite for work.

“She’d have a hillside weeded and the grass mowed off it before a man ever could,” said Ms. Gibson, the nurse practitioner whose husband owned the property where the couple lived. Ms. Vick worked occasional odd jobs to supplement their disability income. “And she was a little firecracker,” Ms. Gibson said.

When the rains came, Ms. Gibson said, Ms. Vick was on the couch with her husband, sitting out the storm in her shorts and a blue Kentucky Wildcats T-shirt, when she felt the house move. “He told us he said, ‘Sit still a minute, I think you imagined that,’ and she said, ‘No, I didn’t,’” Ms. Gibson said.

As the water lifted the house from its foundation, the couple tried to hold the sliding glass door shut, but the water burst in and carried them away. Mr. Vick “told us he went under every culvert and bridge, dog paddling, and could feel himself scraping the blacktop and going over rocks.”

She said that he was eventually rescued by neighbors with ropes who waded into chest-high water to retrieve him, but that his wife’s body was found some five miles away, buried in sand except for one hand. Their wrecked home was found sideways on the other side of the creek.

Jeanette Johnson, 65

Jeanette Johnson was days shy of her 66th birthday and far from family when her body was found inside her family homestead. A nephew, Michael Johnson, said that relatives had begged her for years to leave the house, where she had grown up and which still had outdoor bathrooms.

But she had insisted on staying, he said, reminding family that her church community regularly dropped off groceries and checked in on her, and, in any case, that she had a dozen cats to look after. She spoke to her brother each week on Sunday. And, her nephew recalled, she always had peanut butter cookies for him when he visited as a child.

Mr. Johnson said the family believed she was asleep when the flood trapped her. To think otherwise, he said, would be “terrifying.”

Betty Jean Estep, 67

Hours before the flood, Misty Baker had video messaged her mother, Betty Jean Estep, sharing images of Ms. Estep’s great-granddaughter. “She said, ‘I love you and I’ll talk to you in the morning — I hope,’” Ms. Baker said.

As the water rose, Ms. Estep tried to run for her life after a storage shed broke loose from its moorings and slammed hard into the side of her trailer, a gift from her boyfriend of 17 years, Ronnie Holcomb. He knew he was going to fall in love with her when she walked into his antique store, he said in an interview.

They had grown together over the years, living together for a while, but Ms. Estep, twice divorced, wanted space; he bought her the trailer to honor her wishes and moved himself to a place in Tennessee. They talked multiple times a day and visited often. She wore an engagement ring he had given her, but she reminded him, in a teasing way, that they were not married.

“She let me know, though, that I wasn’t the kingpin,” Mr. Holcomb said. “But we were there for each other.”

At a visitation over the weekend, her family sat on the porch of Letcher Funeral Home and told stories of her incredible cooking. She didn’t just make dinners; she made feasts and poured helping upon helping on their plates. Relatives mentioned her delicious soup beans (a mountain dish), apple cake and a host of other dishes. One relative, Michelle Skiles, called her “the most cookingest woman” anyone had ever known.

Ms. Estep was afraid of two things: spiders and high water.

“It’s high water that was the culprit in the end,” Mr. Holcomb said.

Diana Amburgey, 65

It was nearly 2 a.m. Thursday when Robin Shepherd got a call from her mother, Diana Amburgey, who was 15 miles away in Hindman, Ky. “She said she could hear the walls popping off but couldn’t see anything because the lights had gone out,” Ms. Shepherd said.

Ms. Shepherd called 911, “but they kept saying they didn’t have any boats and couldn’t get to her.” A half-hour later, her mother called again. The water was up to window-level now.

“I told her, ‘Hang on to something that can float,’ but she was so scared,” Ms. Shepherd said. Unable to swim, her mother had never before ventured into water that was more than knee-deep.

Frantic, Ms. Shepherd drove to Hindman, peering helplessly from an overpass while friends climbed down into the flood zone, looking for her mother’s trailer. It was gone: The water had washed it away, leaving only bits and pieces.

Ms. Amburgey’s body was found some five hours later about four miles away. She had been a mother who spoke to her daughter every day, a Baptist, a doting grandmother and great-grandmother, an inveterate maker of peanut butter fudge and, her daughter said, “the lady who worked at the gas station.”

Three generations of family members had been scheduled to leave on Saturday for a vacation to Clearwater, Fla.

“She was so excited,” her daughter said. “Why does someone have to go like that, in a way that was so scary to them? She was begging for help and I couldn’t help her. I don’t know how to even begin to process it. How do other people deal with something like this?”

Maham Javaid contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.

Shawn Hubler is a California correspondent based in Sacramento. Before joining The Times in 2020 she spent nearly two decades covering the state for The Los Angeles Times as a roving reporter, columnist and magazine writer, and shared three Pulitzer Prizes won by the paper's Metro staff.  More about Shawn Hubler

McKenna Oxenden is a breaking news reporter and a member of the 2022-2023 New York Times fellowship class. More about McKenna Oxenden

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Essay on Flood

List of essays on flood in english, essay on flood – essay 1 (150 words), essay on flood: reasons, effects and conclusion – essay 2 (250 words), essay on flood in india – essay 3 (300 words), essay on flood: causes, consequences and prevention – essay 4 (400 words), essay on flood: types, causes and adverse effects – essay 5 (500 words), essay on flood: with causes, mitigating steps and warning system – essay 6 (600 words), essay on flood: with causes – essay 7 (750 words), essay on flood in india – essay 8 (1000 words).

Introduction:

Flood, simply put is an overflow of water from several sources. The nature of the world is to have dry land and water. When water gets on dry land in large quantity flood is said to have occurred.

Causes of Flood:

There are several events that can lead to a flood.

A few of them are highlighted below:

1. Heavy rain pours.

2. Melting ice and snow.

3. Rising sea levels and the overflowing river.

4. Bad drainage systems.

How Flood Affects our Environment:

A flood is by far a negative occurrence. Heavy flooding can have a damaging effect on our environment and the infrastructures in it. First, they can destroy houses and make them inhabitable. Also, they can remove sand from farmland making it difficult to grow crops. Aside from the above, flooding also contaminates clean water causing diseases and ailments.

Conclusion:

Governments around the world can reduce the risk of flooding by building a solid drainage system. We as individuals could also help by stopping drainage blockage.

Any dry land filled by excess water is called flood. It is a natural calamity caused due to several factors.

Reasons for Flood:

The reasons for floods can be natural and unnatural caused due to human activities. When there is excessive rainfall in river banks and coastal areas, there is an increase in water level which leads to overflow of water into the nearby dry land. Also, natural calamities like earthquakes cause Tsunami in oceans which leads to flooding of lands close to beaches. In heavily populated cities, due to congested buildings and roadways, flooding happens as there is not enough room for water to drain. In such cases clogged drainages lead to even more flooding of the area.

Global warming has resulted in the melting of glaciers which increase water levels of rivers and flooding of river banks. Deforestation also plays a major role in flooding.

Effects of Flood:

Floods cause large scale destruction to life and property. Buildings, roads and bridges are heavily damaged. Vast acres of crops are destroyed. Arable lands turn barren and clogged with salts. Countless homes and cattle get washed away. All electronic and digital communication seizes. Many lives are lost. And it does not stop there. Post flood, there is a huge risk in the spreading of water borne diseases. Scarcity of food and basic necessities arises. On the whole, floods cause multiple hardships and turn the livelihood of affected people upside-down.

Effective weather forecasting systems are to be maintained by the Government for timely intimation and evacuation of flood prone areas which will greatly help in keeping the many losses due to floods in check.

Flood is a natural disaster that involves overflowing of water over a region of land that is dry under usual conditions. It submerges the area with water. They are the most common kind of weather-related disasters and are a costly hazard. The level of flood can vary a lot – from a few inches to a level that goes up to meters high like a roof level of a house.

The causes of floods are many. They can happen during heavy rains when the drainage system is unable to handle the amount of rain fall. It can also happen even if low levels of rain occur continuously for many days. Floods can occur when the snow melts as temperature changes and it can result in bulk movement of water in the plains. Rivers can overflow sometimes and create flood in the neighboring regions. They can also be a result of breaking of dam which can flood the nearby areas.

There has been increase in the frequency of floods recently. Because of global warming, the average temperature of sea has increased significantly. This has led to higher rate of tropical storms in the Caribbean. It is also responsible for increase in sea level because of melting of ice caps and glaciers.

Floods cause large-scale loss to life and great damage to properties. Floods cause severe damage to agricultural regions of the affected area. There is loss of life of humans as well as animals. People and the government both suffer from loss in financial terms. Re-building of affected areas takes a lot of time and money.

In India, there are many regions which are affected by floods. Some of these are the Gangetic plains, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, Brahmaputra valley and South Gujarat. Within this year, more than 70 lakh people were affected by floods in India.

Flood is one of the recurring natural disasters which is an outcome of above average rainfall and accumulation of excessive water in every living area. Floods may occur due to overflow of water from the reservoirs or due to heavy down pour of rain in places where the drainage systems are not properly maintained.

Water may look so harmless and peaceful until the large quantities termed Floods harms us.

Common Causes of Flood:

Some of the common causes of Flooding are Heavy Rains, Overflowing Rains, Broken Dams, Urban Drainage Basins, Storm Surges & Tsunami’s, Channels with steep sides, lack of vegetation and melting of snow and Ice. Although the causes of floods are varied, most of the causes can be managed if not prevented.

Global Warming and Floods:

Another primary factor of Flood is increase in the atmospheric temperature i.e., Global Warming. Heating up of earth’s surface can lead to melting of ice glaciers and ice caps which leads to the rise in sea level thereby leading to overflowing floods in the coastal regions. Global Warming brings instability in the climatic condition of the earth, where one part of the world experiences floods and the other goes through drought.

Consequences of Flood:

Floods mostly disrupt the normalcy of living things on the planet. Floods are a great threat to the living things; floods also make way for mosquitoes to thrive thereby leading to all communicable diseases such as malaria, Dengue etc. Another impact of floods is loss of drinking water . Floods also lead to power cuts, damage of crops and soil erosion. Floods can also have an economic backslide, thus putting the country at risk.

Preventing Floods:

Some of the measures that can be done to prevent Floods are:

i. To ensure the meteorological departments are well equipped to provide flood warnings to the indicated zones.

ii. Flood resilient homes with efficiency to waterproof homes and moving electric sockets which moves higher as the flood rises.

iii. Protecting wetlands and planting trees systematically can help alleviate the direct floods.

iv. Stop encroaching of river beds and allowing the rivers to take its natural course can drastically bring down floods.

Floods can be scary, but it is in the hands of human beings to ensure it doesn’t impact our daily life. Water storing areas such as ponds, lakes and other water reservoirs should be maintained. Floods can be avoided by improving the soil conditions thereby allowing easy water absorption. Flood barriers can be used as a defense during Flood crisis.

Floods can either occur naturally or they can be facilitated by environmental factors that destruct the flow of water. Flood incidences have increased due to global warming. Global warming is an adverse effect of environmental pollution that causes a rise in temperatures on the earth’s surface. Global warming is associated with intense climatic changes like heavy storms, snowing and raised sea water levels. These changes in climate contribute to flooding. A flood is the spilling of water on dry land surfaces and causes it to submerge. It occurs when water overflows from the water bodies beyond its usual boundaries. Floods are destructive to the environment.

Types of Floods:

There are three main types of floods. Surge floods are floods that occur in the coast regions due to surges and tidal changes that occur in the sea or ocean. Hurricanes and storm surges on the sea or ocean can cause minor, moderate or major floods. The extent or severity of the floods are determined by the strength, size, speed and directions of the surges. Surge flood are usually severe and massively destructive.

Another type of floods is fluvial floods that occurs due to overflow of rivers. Rivers overflow due to heavy rains that increase water levels in rivers beyond its capacity therefore resulting in floods. Heavy snowing can also cause fluvial floods when the ice melts. Fluvial floods are risky when dams are involved because the increased levels of water in rivers creates immense pressure that cause increase pressure on the walls of dams and cause breakage which results in excessive flooding and environmental destruction.

The other type of floods is pluvial floods. Pluvial floods are caused by surface water as a result of heavy rainfall. Pluvial floods are destructive because they disrupt the drainage systems and cause an overflow which affects structures. Pluvial flooding occurs together with surge floods and fluvial floods. Although pluvial flooding does not involve a lot of water, it causes massive destruction of the environment and the infrastructure.

Causes of Floods:

Floods occur naturally due to some environmental factors. Heavy rains can cause an overflow of water form water bodies. Breakage of water body boundaries like riverbanks or walls of dams. Catastrophes like tsunamis and surges in storms cause heavy flooding. During heavy rains the lack of vegetation on the surface of the earth.

Adverse Effects of Floods:

Foods are destructive in nature and have negative impacts on the environment and the ecosystem. Floods cause death of living things and humans. Destruction of property and infrastructure negatively affects the economy of the region affected and economic activities are at a standstill due to disrupted livelihoods. Migrations from areas that are prone to floods is common, which results in overpopulation in urban areas. Financial constraints are experienced due to the rehabilitations from flood destructions. Prevention of floods that result from natural causes is a challenge.

In conclusion, it is evident that floods are destructive. The adverse effects of floods affects normal livelihood and the environment.

Flood is one of the natural calamities which is known to wreck a lot of havoc. There are so many different instances wherein floods are known to damage the whole area and bring massive loss of life and property as well.

Let us check further into the possible causes of flood and how we can eradicate it too.

The Causes of Flood:

Of course, there can be a lot of different cases of floods. Some of the key ones among them are as follows.

Heavy rains: owing to climate changes, many a times, it so happen that it rains torrentially. If the rain is much above normal, it can lead to flooding.

Broken dams: Dams help in keeping the water level in check. If the dams get broken sometimes, it is likely to lead to flood.

Tsunami: Natural calamities like tsunami is likely to create problems of flood and can bring massive loss of life and property.

Global warming: Owing to the increase in global temperature, the ice cap is melting and the increased level of water in the river bed is going to cause a flood.

Of course, there can be a lot of other reasons too which leads to flood and it is important to keep an eye on the water levels to issue a warning well in time.

The Mitigating Steps:

Now that we know the key causes which leads to flood, let us focus on some of the best mitigation measures which you can take to steer clear of this problem.

Flood Warning System:

This is by far the most important thing which one needs to do. It is important to have a sound flood warning system in place. When you have a dedicated system, it can help warn people who can move to higher altitude or take the right steps.

Restore Rivers to their Natural Courses:

Owing to the excessive development work which we have been carried out and harming the environment, too many rivers have diverted from their natural courses. This is another important reason for excessive flood. So, the right thing to do is to help in restoring the rivers to their natural course as it may prevent flood.

The Global Warming Remedial:

Action must be taken to cure the problem of global warming as it is definitely the cause of too many natural disasters. By choosing to cut the level of air and water pollution and minimizing the use of non bio-degradable products, we may be able to directly or indirectly help in controlling the problem of flood and its aftermath.

Modern Day Construction:

While flood is a natural calamity which may sometime come unannounced, it is important that we construct buildings in accordance with the modern technical advancements. The buildings should be so made that they are above the flood levels and they should be sturdy enough to withstand flood as well.

So, these are some of the important points which you should keep in mind. While some of them are ways by which we can prevent the implication and aftermath of flood, a few of them would help in preventing its occurrence as well.

Whenever any calamity occurs, it is important to do your bit to create awareness. The kind of destruction which can happen is whopping. By knowing about it a little ahead of time helps people be better prepared for it.

The bottom line remains the fact that we should all try and minimize the negative impact we are having on the environment. Doing this will ensure that we will be able to curtail the frequency of natural disasters like flood.

Flood is simply defined as the overflow of a very huge quantity of water that covers a very large area of land and leads to the destruction of land and properties and sometimes lives in the areas that are affected. A lot of regions in the world experience flooding every year. A flood basically occurs when there is excessive rain and there is no proper or good drainage system. The amount of flood is different from place to place and the extent of destruction also varies. For the overflow of water to be classified as flood, the area of land affected has to be mostly dry. Flooding can also happen as a result of water overflowing from bodies of water like lakes, oceans and rivers. Floods cause mass destruction. The effects and destruction caused by flood can take many years to fix and repair.

There are a lot of causes of flood; a few of them are discussed below:

1. Heavy Rains:

As discussed earlier, flood is mostly caused by an extended period of rain. This can happen if the quantity of rainfall is a lot more than the capacity of the drainage system. Flood can also be a result of high intensity rainfall in a short period of time.

2. Snow Melting:

Mountains that were covered with snow in the season of winter start to melt once temperature begins to rise. The sudden rise of the temperature causes the snow to melt and this leads to the massive movement of a lot of water to the plains and lands around. If the area receiving the water does not have a proper and good drainage system that will help in getting rid of the large quantity of water, there is going to be flooding. Flood that is caused by snow melting is also called a snowmelt flood.

3. Dam Breaking:

Dams are constructed to be able to hold the water that is flowing downwards from an area of land that is higher. The energy of the water can be used to turn and power propellers that can be used for the generation and creation of electricity. The dam can sometimes break when they can’t hold a large quantity of water and this causes the areas nearby to experience flooding. Sometimes, excessive water can be released intentionally by the dam to stop the dam from breaking which also results in flood but the flood from the intentional release of water isn’t as harsh as that from the dam breaking.

4. Water Bodies Overflowing:

Rivers and other water bodies can overflow sometimes and this leads to a situation that is flood like in the areas nearby. The areas that are low lying and are near the water body are the ones that are affected the most during the periods of water overflowing downstream.

5. Coastal Region Winds:

Hurricanes and very strong winds have the ability to carry sea water into coastal lands that are dry and this is a serious cause of flood. The coastal regions can experience severe damage and destruction. Tsunamis and hurricanes are widely known causes of serious devastation to areas of coastal lands.

Apart from all of the causes of flood discussed above, it is very important to note that the major cause of flood is global warming. The frequency and rate of flood has drastically increased recently. Researchers have said that the average temperature of the sea has wildly increased because of global warming and it has led to the increased sternness and rate of storms that are tropical in and around the Caribbean. The storms are said to have caused the countries in the region experiencing heavy rainfall. Global warming causes an increase in the atmosphere’s temperature and also causes the ice caps and glaciers to melt which in turn causes flood in a lot of regions. Global warming is believed to have a very major effect on the ice caps at the poles and it is believed that the situation is only going to get worse with time.

Overall, the climatic conditions of the earth have gone through a lot of very major changes and it is believed that global warming is the main cause of all of the change. It is believed that global warming is the reason why there is extreme drought in some places and serious flood in other places. Even though there isn’t much we can do about the glaciers melting or rain, we can do our part by building very good and reliable drainage systems that can handle water.

What is a flood? In normal terms, the excess availability of water in a region then it can usually hold is called flood. Floods are usually heard of it in news and through channels as every year, large portions of India are drastically affected by floods. It is mainly during the monsoon season with the onset of rain, we hear of different floods and the havoc they have caused to humans, animals and plant life. It is, therefore; very important to understand what floods are all about?

Types of Floods and their Causes:

Flood is not just the excess rainfall we talk about. There is a lot more to it. For instance, there are Flash Floods in which there is a sudden heavy downpour due to a cloudburst and the entire area is flooded within minutes. In India, areas in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand witness occurrence of flash flood every year. Similarly, we have river floods in which the areas around a river are flooded due to the swelling of the river. Some parts in Delhi witness river flood every year due to the overflowing of the river Yamuna due to excessive rains and the excess flow of water from the Hathnikund Dam. Another type of floods is the inland flooding . In the case of inland flooding, the area witnessing a rainfall get flooded with the roads and lanes all filled with water. This happens usually when proper drainage system is not in place or is inefficient due to severe blockages which obstruct the flow of water and leading to flooding of lanes and roads in the city. Again, Delhi and Mumbai are cities which see such floods even after an hour of continuous rainfall. People living in coastal areas are prone to coastal floods . These floods are usually caused by high tides or Tsunami which bring huge volumes of water on the land thereby flooding it. Another reason for coastal floods is global warming due which the rise in sea level temperatures has led to the subsequent rise in water level in coastal areas. Coastal areas of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Orissa witness such floods every year.

Deadliest Floods in Indian History:

India witness floods every year in different states. In fact, some regions are sure to be flooded with the onset of monsoon season. However, there have been occurrences of the flood which have caused massive destruction and hence are termed as the deadliest floods. Hence there is a need to know about them so as to understand and analyse what can be done in order to minimise such destruction in future years.

Deadly floods are a common occurrence in India after every few years. One of the deadliest floods in recent times was the flood in Gujarat in the year 1979 in the Machhu Dam-II. The Machhu Dam-II flopped on Aug. 11, 1979, discharging the full power of the Macchu River on the town of Morbi. The flood thus created in western India caused somewhere around 1,335 deaths, as per the Press Trust of India at the time.

Another of the deadliest floods in India is the one that shook Bihar in the year 1987 in the Kosi River. In any case, the Kosi River is prone to floods and is flooded almost every year. However, this year was particularly exceptional. The most decimating surge in Bihar’s history happened in 1987, when an avalanche obstructed the Bhote Kosi River, making it surge and crush more than 1.7 million homes. As per the statistics of the state, government flooding led to the death of 1,399 individuals and 5,302 animals.

The Tsunami that struck coastal India in the year 2004 was another such disaster which engulfed a number of lives. An extent 9.0 quake under the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, 2004, set off a tidal wave that crushed southern India. As per the Government statistics 10,749 individuals died, 5,640 went missing and 2.79 million people were affected by the wave. It likewise devastated 11,827 hectares of products and demolished the occupation of 300,000 fishermen.

The Recent Kerala and Kedarnath Floods:

The most noticeably bad climate-related floods in India’s history happened in June 2013, when a few days of overwhelming precipitation activated blaze surges and avalanches in the northern territory of Uttarakhand. The downpour struck amid the bustling visitor season in Uttarakhand when a huge number of Hindu pilgrims rush to the region to visit its memorable sanctuaries. The rain happened some time before the start of rainstorm season, getting numerous off guard. An expected 4,094 individuals died and about 1 million were influenced by the catastrophe in Uttarakhand and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, the worst affected being the region around Kedarnath. The military was brought in to evacuate around 100,000 people from rocky parts of the state, where they had turned out to be caught by the avalanches.

The recent floods in Kerala are another perfect example of how human activities have led to calling of nature’s ire in different forms such as floods. Had it there been a proper drainage system with no blockages, Kerala would not have witnessed such a massive flood.

The Need for Action:

We must not forget that older civilisations emerged around rivers and seas only and they just vanished with time due to the ever-rising water level on the earth. With the recent back to back occurrences in Kedarnath and Kerala, it is high time the Government as well all of us sit down and think what harm we have done to nature. The blooming of industrial units with no waste management in place, the inefficient drainage system and the careless attitude of both the Government and the people are all collectively responsible for these disasters. Not all disasters can be avoided, but, at least measures can be taken to minimise their impact or at least the ones caused by own carelessness can surely be avoided. It is for own good and for the benefit of future generations that we all do our bit to protect the life on earth from the backlash of nature.

Flood , Flood in India , Natural Disasters

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How to Help Flood Victims

Last Updated: September 20, 2022 Fact Checked

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 16 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 213,921 times. Learn more...

Floods can be devastating. Depending on the severity, flood victims might lose everything they have: their homes, their jobs, even their loved ones. Whether it’s donating a dollar or volunteering to rebuild damaged houses, there are a several ways to lend a helping hand to those in need.

Determining How to Help

• Depending on where the flood occurred, different humanitarian organizations will be involved in coordinating relief efforts.
• If the flood occurred in the United States, chances are the American Red Cross [1] X Research source and Salvation Army will be marshalling aid and leading relief efforts.
• If it is an international natural disaster, check to see if UNICEF or AmeriCares are providing aid in the affected area. [2] X Research source
• Visit the organization's website or call to find out what kind of aid they are providing and how you can best get involved.

• Different needs will arise at different moments in the crisis. For instance, there will be emergent needs in the immediate aftermath as well as long-term rebuilding needs for years to come.
• Sometimes an organization will reach maximum capacity with certain types of donations (like clothing), but have a deficit in another area. The best way to know what is most needed is to frequently check-in with the status of their aid efforts and need by calling or looking for updates on their social media accounts.

• If you have extra funds or goods, you might consider making monetary donations. If you have time, skills, or other supportive resources to offer in lieu of monetary donations, you can offer these to those in need.
• There are pros/cons for each this type of involvement: for donations, a pro is that you can act quickly and put resources in the hands of organizations who can decide how to best help the victims. A con to making donations is that you don't necessarily know if all of your money will go directly to the victims (be sure to research how organizations administer donations before you give to them). One of the biggest pros of volunteering instead of donating money is that you get to feel like you really providing hands-on helps while interacting with people. A potential con is the danger and risk of injury associated with traveling to flood zones.

Making Donations

• Be sure that you are donating to a reputable organization like The Salvation Army, American Red Cross, or UNICEF. Unfortunately, some sham organizations can crop up in the aftermath of disasters as ploys to steal well-intentioned donations.
• Ask if you can make a donation via text message. A recent trend among aid organizations is to provide a phone number and keyword for people to make a donations. The amount you give will show up on your next mobile phone bill. It’s as easy as sending a text message, and much more meaningful!

• Gently used clothing, socks, shoes, bedding, and blankets are almost always in need after a devastating flood.
• You can also help the children affected by floods by sending them books and toys.
• Purchase and donate new, non-perishable food items and bottled drinking water.
• First aid kits, tents, mosquito netting, soap, and hygiene products might also be needed.

Becoming a Volunteer

• If you meet height, weight, age, fitness, education, and U.S. citizenship requirements, consider joining the National Guard . The National Guard is a part-time, locally organized branch of the U.S. military that responds to natural disasters (both in the U.S. and sometimes abroad) as part of their call of duty. [5] X Research source After completing basic training, you can chose a short-term enlistment (three years) and then continue to be a member of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) who are called up in the event of emergencies like natural disasters. [6] X Research source
• Consider volunteering with Habitat for Humanities or other organizations whose mission is to clear debris, help homeowners salvage their personal belongings, and rebuild damaged homes. [7] X Research source

• If you are a health care professional, see if you can donate your medical services or supplies.
• If you are a contractor or work in construction, volunteer your manpower, supplies, and other resources towards rebuilding efforts.
• If you are an educator or child care worker, offer to provide support and assistance with displaced families and their children.
• If you are a business owner, especially in the area surrounding the flood, offer discounts or gratis goods/services to those affected by the flood.

• Get in touch with the local branch of the aid organization working with flood victims and see if they need help in their call center, hotline, or donation processing facility.
• You can also become a community liaison by collecting local donations and bringing them to the regional sorting facility.

Offering Other Kinds of Support

• If you are part of a church or religious organization, encourage your leaders to reach out to flood victims with support as well as tangible aid.
• Some large religious organization, like the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team , send crisis-trained chaplains into areas impacted by natural disasters to coordinate relief efforts and provide further emotional and spiritual support for those affected.
• If you are a spiritual person, pray for the flood victims and/or reflect for a moment on the situation. Open your heart to ways you can help, and be a comfort to those in need.

• Ask how you can be most helpful to those affected by the flood. They might need a hot, home cooked meal, help taking care of their pets, or photographing flood damage for insurance claims.
• Be a good listener and remember that sometimes its best to just listen and not offer your own opinions or solutions without being asked for them.
• Remember that people need support in the days, months, and even years following natural disasters. Be sensitive to the fact that new issues and difficulties can continue to arise, even after the flood waters subside.

Community Q&A

• Don’t go into flood areas without authorization and without being part of an organized relief effort. It might be dangerous for you, and ultimately unhelpful to others. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1
• Be sure your donations go to a reputable organization so that your dollars end up in the right place. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1
• Do not attempt to provide mental help and psychological support unless you are a trained professional. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/disaster-relief/flood-relief.html
• ↑ https://www.americares.org/take-action/
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/natural-disaster.html
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/natural-disaster.html
• ↑ http://www.nationalguard.mil/News/ArticleView/tabid/5563/Article/573302/guard-army-corps-provide-flood-relief.aspx
• ↑ https://www.nationalguard.com/guard-faqs#faq-454
• ↑ https://www.habitat.org/volunteer
• ↑ https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/resource/10-creative-ways-to-volunteer
• ↑ https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/become-a-volunteer.html#step1
• ↑ https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2021/coast-to-coast--red-cross-helping-disaster-victims.html

About This Article

To help flood victims, try making a monetary donation to a reputable organization, like the American Red Cross or UNICEF. You can also donate used or newly purchase goods, such as blankets, clothes, and first aid kits. Alternatively, consider volunteering with an organization, like Habitat for Humanities, to help clear the debris and rebuild damaged homes. If you're unable to travel to the site, get in touch with your local branch of an aid organization to see if they need help in their call center or donation processing facility. To learn more, like how to help flood victims by volunteering your professional services, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Causes, impacts and coping strategies of floods in Ghana: a systematic review

• Review Paper
• Published: 01 April 2020
• Volume 2 , article number  792 , ( 2020 )

Cite this article

• Henry Mensah   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8807-9697 1 , 2 &
• Divine Kwaku Ahadzie 2  

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Urban flooding has become a major problem in many parts of the world due to its social, economic and environmental impact. In Ghana, flood occurs every year, which adversely affects livelihoods, property, infrastructure, lives and renders many people homeless. In this paper, we aim to understand the current state of flood research in Ghana, focusing on how the scholarly community has approached the causes, effects/impact, and the coping strategies adopted by people in the urban setting. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review, combined with individual co-author in-depth experience in research and practice in Ghana, we searched academic database such as SCOPUS, Web of Science, Springer, Taylor and Francis, Science Direct and Google scholar for recent studies. Our results, on the basis of 33 articles, indicate that poor urban planning and development (number of reported articles, n  = 18), poor and inadequate drainage facilities ( n  = 11), poor environmental attitude ( n  = 10) and extreme rainfall ( n  = 8) are the top causes of urban flood in Ghana. The most commonly reported impacts/effects were physical cost ( n  = 7), destruction of economic infrastructure ( n  = 5) and health concerns ( n  = 4). The most reported coping strategies were relocation and protection of properties ( n = 9) and construction of drains ( n  = 8). The review also pointed out critical research gaps in the context of Ghana and suggested a new area for future research direction and practice.

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1 Introduction

One of the most threatening disasters confronting the world is flooding. Over the past decade, urban flooding has become a major problem in many parts of the world due to its social, economic and environmental impact. It has destroyed developmental infrastructure and increased human casualties around the globe [ 1 ]. For example, 5 million people were displaced during the period 1960–2000 globally due to temperature and heavy rainfall. The number is expected to increase by 11.8 million people by the end of the twenty first century [ 2 ]. In Pakistan, flood occurrence is pervasive and spreading uncontrollably. This led to a huge economic loss to the government in 2010 [ 3 ]. Moreover, flooding has disproportionately destroyed building structures, and further worsened economic status, particularly people who live in lower areas and informal settlements [ 4 ]. In Europe, over the past 150 years, the total number of urban areas that are vulnerable to flooding has increased by 1000% whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa, losses due to flooding is over US$300 billion [ 5 ].

In Africa, urban flooding has become one of the major threats to deal with given the poor and limited infrastructure, low capacity of local governments (e.g. human and financial resources) and limited coordination of relevant stakeholders in flood management [ 6 ]. The rapid urbanisation of the cities in Africa has also necessitated the demand for land. People with limited income who cannot afford housing in the flood-free areas tend to settle within the flood-prone areas, which are mostly cheap. Additionally, people in poverty are relatively overexposed to flooding. They usually accept and cope with flooding because of limited alternatives [ 7 ]. In Africa, management plans to deal with flood are being developed and implemented; however, it appears that effective implementation still remains a challenge. For example, despite the effort to address urban flooding in Ouagadougou, the problem continues to persist due to the high cost of mitigation measures and the inability of the people to effect change [ 8 ]. Related studies demonstrated that fragmental approaches to flood risk management are ineffective [ 9 ].

In the context of Ghana, apart from destruction of properties and economic losses due to flooding, people living in flood areas are at a high risk of contracting diseases such as cholera, malaria and hepatitis E [ 10 , 11 ]. In an attempt to address the problem associated with urban flooding in Ghana, city authorities issue eviction notices to informal residents, particularly in settlements in floodplains and wetlands. However, it seems that the eviction order has not been effective and has increased flooding in the informal areas. There are an increased number of approaches available that could be tapped to address the socio-economic, environmental and institutional challenges in poor urban communities [ 12 ]. Local government and residents may play a role in dealing with urban flood; however, due to distrust and limited community engagement, policy implementation has become weak [ 13 ]. Numerous policy options and strategies have emerged to protect urban infrastructure against flooding and enhance urban flood resilience and sustainability. Moreover, there are efforts by the government to prevent development in the flood risk zones to enhance the growth of ecosystem [ 14 ]. There is also a growing effort to discourage people from building or farming in the flood plains and wetlands, however the effort is being resisted and politically contested [ 15 ]. To better adapt to urban flood, it is also suggested that climate change-related issues and strategies to encourage local participation should be incorporated into the planning process [ 16 ].

The impact of climate change on rainfall intensity, duration and frequency has become relevant in recent research [ 17 ]. Intensification of rainfall has been associated with climate change [ 18 ]. Climate change increases the likelihood of extreme rainfall and its intensification creates a higher risk of damaging flood events that threaten both life and the built environment, particularly in urban regions where the existing infrastructure has not been designed to cope with these risks [ 19 ]. There is a growing concern over the causes and effects/impacts as well as copping strategies of people affected by urban floods; therefore, it is essential to comprehend the nature of flood and its associated risks in urban areas.

1.1 Gap analysis and goals of review

Ghana is not an exception when it comes to urban flooding. For example, Ghana recorded unprecedented flood event in November 2010, which affected 55 communities and displaced 700,000 people. Additionally, 3234 houses were destroyed while 23,588 acres of farmlands were submerged. The total cost of the flood was estimated to be US$116,340.22 US according to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) report in 2010, Ghana. Moreover, on 3 June 2015, flood event led to over 150 deaths [ 20 ]. Research shows massive destruction of property and economic losses. The worse affected regions include Greater Accra, Volta, Central, Western and Eastern Regions. Table  1 shows some of the major floods in different cities from the reviewed papers and reports.

This phenomenon has become severe and widespread [ 26 ]. One of the important natural causes of flood is heavy rainfall, which is related to climate change. The rainfall patterns in Ghana have not been stable and this is known as the major cause of urban flood [ 20 ]. For example, Accra within the last few decades, has recorded average monthly precipitation from 160 mm (1991–2010) to 200 mm (2011–2020). Finding from Amoako and Inkoom [ 21 ] also revealed that rainfall intensity or storm surges trigger flash flood in urban areas. Research demonstrated that urban flood in Ghana occur due to poor drainage system [ 27 ], poor waste management [ 28 ], removal of urban vegetation [ 23 ] and poor urban and structural planning [ 23 , 29 ]; however, the planning system in Ghana has failed to successfully control urban physical development [ 30 ] and this has exacerbated the effects of urban flooding.

The Government has relied on relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Works and Housing (MWH), Ministry of Health (MoF), Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGR), City Engineers and Lands Department and the public to deal with the socio-economic and environmental impact of flood [ 31 ]; however, the methods have not been able to address flood event as new threat continues to resurface. For example, the recurring flood events in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Sekondi-Takoradi, Eastern and Volta regions claim hundreds of lives and destroys valuable resources and properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis yearly. This has led to an increase in relief expenditure and health control by government, and potentially increasing the overall national budget.

Previous research (see Table  1 ) has outlined different causes, effects/impacts and coping strategies; however, there has not been any methodological review on the causes, effects/impacts and coping strategies in the context of Ghana. According to the literature, two major shortcomings were identified. Firstly, in spite of a burgeoning threat of urban flood, limited studies so far have unearthed the current knowledge of causes, effects and coping strategies in Ghana and future research directions. Secondly, none of the existing reviews covered the three broad themes of flood research: causes, effects/impacts and coping strategies. While the works of Okyere et al. [ 32 ] and Gyekye [ 33 ] focus strongly on the nature and extent of floods in Accra, Asumadu-Sarkodie et al. [ 26 ] were mostly interested in causes of flood and mitigation measures. Additionally, Korah and Cobbinah [ 34 ] focused on institutional and social dimension, whereas Ahadzie and Proverbs [ 25 ] were interested in flood risk management strategies. From the foregoing, it is evident that none of the reviews did cover important themes of flood research in an integrated manner. The authors tend to fill the knowledge gap by exploring emerging (1) causes of flood in Ghana (2), effects/impacts of flood, (3) coping strategies used by residents living in flood-prone areas in urban areas and (4) discuss future implications for research and practice.

Building on the work of Ahadzie and Proverbs [ 25 ], this study explores the current state of flood research in Ghana, focusing on how the scholarly community has approached the causes, effects/impact, and coping strategies adopted by people in urban setting. Based on the research issues identified, this research seeks to address the following questions:

What are main causes of flooding in Ghana?

What are the effects/impacts of flood in Ghana?

What are the coping strategies that are adopted by the community during flood events in Ghana?

What are the possible sustainable developmental and policy options for addressing flood problems in Ghana?

This study is organised into the following sections. Section  1 covers the introduction of the study. Section  2 outlines the methods used in the study. Section  3 outlines the results including sources of studies by regions, frequency of publication, research methods used in the studies, an overview of community flood responses along with the four themes. Section  4 discusses three themes: causes, effect and coping strategies. The last section presents the conclusion and directions for future research.

2.1 Ghana: a brief introduction

Figure  1 shows the map Footnote 1 of Ghana. It is located in West Africa, bordered by Burkina Faso in the north, Cote d’Ivoire in the west, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea in the south. Currently, there are sixteen regions, which are further divided into 260 local districts. The largest cities are Accra of the Greater Accra Region (1,963,264), Kumasi of the Ashanti Region (1,468,609), Tamale of the Northern Region (360,579), Sekondi-Takoradi of the Western Region (232,919) [ 35 ]. Currently, Ghana has a population of about 29.6 million (2018) [ 36 ] with an area of 238,533 km 2 . Ghana is endowed with a large number of streams and rivers with a catchment area of nearly 70% of the country's total land area. The Volta River is the most important river consisting of tributaries such as Oti and Afram Rivers. White and Black Volta form an important part of the Volta River in Ghana.

Map of Ghana showing the ten regions

2.2 Data sources and collection methods

This paper tends to understand the current state of flood research, focusing on causes, effects/impacts, coping strategies and identify gaps in the conventional literature in order to inform future research and practice. We reviewed 33 peer-reviewed articles from 2009 to 2019. Table  2 shows the selected list of publications and their corresponding journals and conferences. As part of the review, co-authors with longstanding experience in urban flood, both in research and practice in Ghana, critically examined and refined selected articles to improve the validity of the findings. This study uses the term secondary data to mean existing research data that are examined to find the answer(s) to research questions that are different from the original research goal [ 37 ].

The author followed the guidelines from Cronin et al. [ 38 ] for the traditional literature review, namely: literature search; gathering, reading and analysing the literature. Considering electronic search, the author used the phrases and keywords that were relevant to the study. Each of the respective search engines covered articles within the last 10 years (from 2009 to 2019). The selection of the year was important to ensure that recent literature and discussion of the subject area are included in the study.

The author searched through academic databases such as Google Scholar, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Springer, Taylor and Francis. For example, Scopus used the following search rule to collect relevant literature: “coping strategies” AND “Ghana” AND “flood” AND “adaptation” AND “causes” AND “mitigation” AND “impacts” OR “effects”. These search words and phrases were entered in different combinations and were searched for in the search engines. In order to include articles that were not found in the search engine, the authors applied the snowball approach technique to identify hidden publications or articles relevant to the study.

2.3 Data analysis

In the content analyses of the selected articles, a qualitative data analysis tool (NVivo 10) was used to store textual information. The short-listed studies were analysed to identify themes, and topics emerging from the selected articles. Articles were further analysed in terms of frequency of publication in journal outlets, year of publication, research methods and region where the study was conducted. These were imported into an excel spreadsheet for easy descriptive analyses to be done. Finally, the frequency of themes across the 33 studies was also examined. The search excluded studies that include reports, dissertations, tutorials, workshops, panels and poster sessions. We selected articles based on author’s generated codes; therefore, articles that could not meet at least one or more codes were excluded from the study. The following codes were used for the content analysis.

Year Year of publication

Article Title of the article

Journal Publication in which the article was published

Geographical jurisdiction Region from which the data was collected

Study focus Causes, consequence, coping strategies, adaption, mitigation

Research type Survey, interview, secondary data, others

Major findings Significant findings explicitly stated in the article

2.4 Delimitation and limitations

The reviews focus on the causes and effects/impacts of flooding, coping strategies and identify gaps in the conventional literature in order to inform future research and practice. The present study focuses on Ghana. The selection process of primary articles was carried out based on Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guideline [ 61 ]. The study selection process is described in Table  3 . Mendeley was used to store citations of relevant articles from steps 1 to 4. The electronic searches generated 350 papers after searching academic databases: SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Google scholar search. In the second step, 114 papers were obtained after examining titles and keywords. After the abstract review, 43 papers were identified through an in-depth screening process. This is because the articles’ title and keywords could not represent the content of the paper. Thirty-three (33) out of the 43 papers were found to be adequate for the study in step 4.

3.1 Overview of studies

Figure  2 shows Accra with 17 articles as the most active region. The second most active regions are Northern and Ashanti, with six and five articles, respectively. The analysis shows that there is an increased number of flood researches in Ghana, with the majority focusing on Greater Accra [ 20 , 22 , 31 , 39 , 62 , 63 ]. This could be as a result of higher frequency of flooding in recent years. Another reason could be increased exposure, the susceptibility of Accra to flood hazards, leading to more flood events [ 64 ], and thus increasing research engagement. Results indicate that flood research has only recently been conducted in these themes: causes, effects/impacts and coping strategies, however, we expect more relevant research to exists, published outside of the academic databases.

Study regions

Figure  3 presents the frequency of publications between 2009 and 2019 with a focus on causes, effects/impacts, and coping strategies. It shows increasing research in 2013 with 6 publications, respectively, followed by 2014, 2016 and 2019 with 4 publications each. Flood research has been around for some time; however, incorporating “causes, effects/impacts and coping strategies” into research gained momentum in 2013 and, since then, a good number of research papers have constantly been published yearly. Table  4 shows the frequency and various research methods used in studies (Table  2 ). Field survey and interview ( n  = 6) were the most popular forms of collecting data, followed by review ( n  = 5), interviews ( n  = 4) and interview/FGD ( n  = 3).

Frequency of research publications

Table  5 shows the content analysis of flood research for three main themes. The theme “causes” comprises of papers that discuss the underlying causes of urban flood. A total of 18 articles were identified and coded for patterns in data [ 65 ]. Eighteen studies reported poor urban planning and development as the causes of flood, for instance, [ 23 , 29 , 57 , 66 ]. Next, 11 studies reported on poor drainage network, for instance, [ 27 , 67 , 68 ]. Similarly, ten studies attributed the cause of flood to indiscriminate of disposal of waste materials, for instance, [ 23 , 28 , 68 ].

The theme “effects/impacts” includes those papers that discuss the underlying effects/impacts of urban flood. About seven studies mentioned that flood can cause damage to homes, destruction of livelihoods, collapse of houses, etc. [ 52 , 69 ]. Five studies mentioned that floods have led to the destruction of economic infrastructure, property, public areas and the environment, thus putting enormous costs to the national government and individuals [ 66 , 70 ]. For instance, it was revealed by [ 66 ] that residents spent GH¢ 100.00 and GH¢500 ($45 and $220) to repair and renovate their homes in the aftermath of the flood. Moreover, four studies indicated that flood can potentially increase the transmission of communicable diseases and mental health condition [ 46 , 71 , 72 ].

The results show three coping strategies used by residents, namely reactive, preventive and recovery, for instance, [ 53 ]. In terms of reactive, nine studies demonstrated that flood victims relocate to a safe place and protect their valuables and collectables, for instance [ 7 , 40 ]. Regarding the preventive measures, majority of the studies (8) mentioned that people construct drainage to make easy flow of stock water, for instance, [ 72 , 73 ] and six mentioned that people repair, rebuild their house and protect from further damage, for instance, [ 73 ]. Finally, three studies mentioned flood victims seek Government, friends and family support for relief items and cash, for instance, [ 53 ] and five studies reported community clean-up such as disposal of wastes and clearing of gutters, for instance [ 53 ].

4 Discussion

4.1 overview of causes of urban flood.

Human activities increase the risks of flood due to human and ecological interaction. In Africa, urban flood has become one of the major threats to be dealt with in the face of poor socio-economic conditions [ 6 ]. For example, poor people tend to build houses and live in flood-prone areas as those areas are considered affordable. Moreover, the majority of them rely on government and other stakeholders for support when flood events strike [ 74 ]. In a similar study, 18.5% of inhabitants lived in flood-prone areas in the megacity of Dhaka [ 75 ]. Generally, in Ghana, flood occurs as a result of natural and anthropogenic factors. However, the most recurring causes are anthropogenic activities such as poor urban planning and development and  inadequate drainage facility [ 22 , 62 , 66 ].

In urban areas, roads, pavements, and compacted soil areas have increased impermeable surfaces, thereby increasing surface water runoff. This has also led to the increase in discharge that overloads drainage channels [ 66 ]. Research demonstrated that poor planning is a major cause of the increasing urban flooding in Africa [ 76 ]. This has implication for real estate developers and homeowners to understand community and individual impact of flood and re-thinking of sustainable urban land use policy and development. Human activities such as throwing rubbish into river bodies can cause flood during the raining season [ 28 , 46 , 53 ]. Similarly, half of the residents dispose of waste into gutters, streets and bushes causing health problem [ 77 ]. This suggests that flood event may be more rampant due to improper waste disposal in urban areas. This has implications for the promotion of flood resilience through improved drainage and green infrastructural systems.

In other related studies, land use control is established as a contributor to flooding. For example, it was found that delays in permit approvals, lack of monitoring and inspections of physical developments, non-conformance with permit laws and regulations, and poor enforcement were responsible for urban flood [ 29 ]. Tasantab [ 29 ] suggested early approval of permit as well as inspecting and monitoring of physical development to ensure compliance with planning requirements could be an important strategy to mitigating flooding events. Similarly, the land ownership system is an impediment to the successful management of wetlands by city authorities [ 57 ]. Owusu-Ansah et al. [ 73 ] mentioned that local chiefs take advantage of government administrative inefficiencies to sell out land designated for urban green, wetlands, riparian lands, and open space. It was observed that wetlands, riparian lands and urban vegetation are being cleared for built-up purposes [ 23 ]. The rate at which water flows into river channels depends particularly on the available vegetation cover. It is important to protect wetlands to hold some of the volume of water during heavy downpour. Flash flooding has increased in urban areas, particularly in Accra due to the increases in deforested land and urban sprawl. The government needs to enforce urban planning policy and make sure new homes are not be built within flood plains. Moreover, educational policy should target potential victims and community because a lot of people do not understand the value of wetlands [ 78 ]. Previous research indicated the value of an integrated approach comprising of active participation of all the relevant stakeholders, including, governments authorities, international and local and private sectors in resolving and addressing flooding problems [ 3 ]. It was revealed that torrential rainfall is not just the main cause of recent flood, but poor drainage system was actually the main cause of flood in the urban areas [ 23 , 27 ]. It is important to strengthen the drainage system design at where wetlands are reclaimed for developmental purposes to help control flood.

4.2 Overview of effects/impacts of urban flood

In June 2015, Accra, the capital of Ghana, experienced an unprecedented flash flood event claiming at least 152 lives and caused around US$100 million in asset losses [ 49 ]. As economic infrastructure such as electricity, bridges and roads are damaged, communities are cut-off and some economic activities become disrupted. This can increase community vulnerability economically and normal life comes to a standstill. Similarly, the impact of flood has led to the deterioration of people’s health, including waterborne diseases, injuries and animal bites, especially among the poor people. This is due to the absence of infrastructure and effective polices to mitigate the effects [ 46 ]. In the aftermath of the flood in 2013, about 36% of the residents were very injured or lost their lives [ 66 ]. Dziwornu and Kugbey [ 71 ] discovered mental health problems among flood victims and therefore suggested that care must be taken to address the psychological needs of victims in the aftermath of flood disaster. For example, the loss of loved ones and properties can cause depression and stress among adults and children. The psychological impact can last for a long period of time when their psychological needs are not met quickly. People leaving in low lying areas are more likely to be affected by the flooding [ 47 ]. Due to rapid urbanisation, appropriate policy guidelines and intervention, supported by effective enforcement mechanism should be developed and implemented to abate flooding in the cities [ 79 ]. The impact of floods can be experienced by individuals and society, and have social, economic, and environmental consequences. Research demonstrated that floods damage properties, disrupt economic activities, lead to loss of income, emergency cost and changes in morphological process [ 80 ]. In the face of growing private interest of political parties and public service in Ghana, flood issue should not be ``politicised´´ but must be considered as an important national issue. Consequently, flood mitigation plans should be fully implemented and continually revised with broad consultation of relevant stakeholders.

4.3 Overview of coping strategies of flood disaster

Coping strategy is an important measure to assess a community ability to respond to a flood event. Residents or communities commonly adopt strategies to sustain their lives and restore their losses (Table  5 ). Whereas most of the studies mentioned preventive strategies as the common coping strategy, other studies identify some relevant reactive coping strategies. In previous research, local communities provide measures to deal with flood events [ 81 ]. For example, improving Green Infrastructure (GI) has the tendency to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and urban flood as it increases the vegetation cover and protects urban drainage systems [ 82 ]. To better adapt to urban flooding and build resilience, it is important to allow local actions to prevail as local people are able to address a problem in their own community. Additionally, research has demonstrated myriad options in managing urban flood risk, essential for effective urban flood management. For example the development of low impact development (LID) techniques [ 83 , 84 ], resilient housing [ 85 ] and the use of floodplain and wetland green infrastructure [ 15 ] for flood risk reduction. It is worth mentioning that some of the coping strategies are costly and sometimes ineffective [ 53 ]. There is the need to integrate and engage indigenous coping strategies into flood planning process and recovery as well as socially vulnerable populations in addressing flood issues in the country.

5 Conclusion and future research directions

The overarching objective was to explore the current state of flood research, focusing on the causes, effects/impacts, coping strategies of urban flooding and identify literature gaps to inform future research and practice. The analysis showed an increased attention on the subject among scholars over the last decade, with the majority focusing on the Greater Accra Region in Ghana. Despite the increasing number of flood research in Ghana, “causes, effects/impacts and coping strategies” started gaining momentum in 2013 and, since then, a good number of peer-reviewed articles have been published yearly. Generally, the majority of the studies attribute the causes of flood to poor urban planning and development and this has resulted in the destruction of homes, properties, livelihoods, and left many people homeless. Residents or communities commonly adopt strategies to sustain themselves and restore their losses.

Based on the findings of the review, it is important to continuously create awareness of the consequences of flooding, promote education on better house building techniques, proper waste management, provide affordable houses which will move people out from high risk zones, stricter enforcement against building in flood-prone areas, communicate risks, construct drainage and green infrastructural systems in all risk areas. Further, provide up to date weather forecast and early warning system during peak rain season because floods are more devastating when they occur without warning. Alhtough the results of the present study make profound contribution to flood scholarship and the planning process in Ghana, a number of gaps remain in the conventional flood literature. The ensuing section identifies the gaps and suggest the possible ways forward. 

Although some studies demonstrated that hydrological factors, particularly torrential rainfall as the major cause of flood in Ghana, limited studies have been conducted on designing flood estimation, flood frequency, flow direction and accumulation that are essential for flood risk management. Thus, there is the need to conduct hydrological modelling research to help control flood.

Most studies relied on field survey and interview to explore the causes and effects/impacts and coping strategies [ 29 , 39 ]. Although these designs have significantly contributed to our understanding of the subject matter, they are limited in terms of providing the data that are required to develop models to predict flood risk in the community. For example, due to changing flood event patterns, future studies should explore changes in flood risk to adjust flood risk maps for a better picture of flood hazards [ 86 , 87 ].

There is a need for more research that establishes the role of stakeholders before, during and after a flood event. The factors that promote and inhibit the effective participation of stakeholders in flood reduction and mitigation should also be examined [ 88 ]. There is also a need for more research that examines how and what flood information get to people leaving in flood-prone areas [ 63 ]. Such knowledge would improve our understanding of what communication and information modes are most effective.

There is the need to conduct research on evacuation strategies during flood events as well as assessing the capacity for flood monitoring and early warning in Ghana.

There is a need to further examine the factors that influence local communities in coping with flood events [ 39 , 46 ].

Research indicated that new flood risks are emerging [ 47 ]; nevertheless, additional research needs to focus on flood vulnerability and interventions that are adaptable to the communities [ 21 ].

Few comprehensive epidemiologic studies have been conducted to assess the health implication of flood [ 46 , 72 ]. It is also important to conduct research on environmental impact of flooding [ 71 ].

Lastly, there is limited focus on gender-based adaptation and vulnerability to flooding. This knowledge will increase our understanding of how men and women cope and adapt to urban flood as well as the possible intervention that are likely to benefit them.

This study has a few limitations that are worth mentioning. First, despite the search procedure employed for the study, it is possible that some relevant studies on “causes, effects/impacts and coping strategies” were omitted. However, the study contributes to scholarship and practice by providing a current state of flood research in Ghana, with a focus on the causes, effects/impacts and coping strategies of urban flooding and identifies gaps in the conventional literature. The findings of the study will inform future research and practice and enhance communities’ resilience in future flood event in Ghana.

All the 33 studies examined in this study referred to the former ten regional boundaries. On 27 December 2018, there was a new map of Ghana following a referendum on the creation of additional six new regions.

Abbreviations

Focus Group Discussion

Low Impact Development

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development

Ministry of Health

Ministry of Works and Housing

National Disaster Management Organisation

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

UNISDR (2015) Global assessment report on disaster risk reduction 2015

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We wish to express our profound gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, which helped us to improve the earlier version of the manuscript.

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Mensah, H., Ahadzie, D.K. Causes, impacts and coping strategies of floods in Ghana: a systematic review. SN Appl. Sci. 2 , 792 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-2548-z

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-2548-z

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106 Flood Topic Ideas & Research Questions on Flooding

🏆 best flood topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 simple & easy flood essay titles, 👍 good essay topics on flood, ❓ research questions on flooding.

• Sri Lanka Flood Disaster Preparedness From these findings, it is evident that floods are the major concerns for the disaster management center, with the recent damages being witnessed towards the end of 2012 and the beginning of the year 2013.
• Floods, Technology and Price Ceiling in the Market From the graph, assuming that the equilibrium price in the fruits and vegetable market was EQ0, the floods destroy the products in the fields and this causes a shift of the supply curve to the […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Floods and Volcanic Eruption This is due to the relationship between an eruption and the geology of the area. It was observed that the mountain swelled and increased in size due to the upward force of magma.
• Great Barrier Reef: Flood Alleviation Solutions In the first presentation, solutions to protect the Great Barrier Reef, which is endangered from rising acidity levels due to methane extraction, were given while the second, third and fourth presentations focused on the measures […]
• Floods in Los Angeles and Disaster Response The Los Angeles local government is set to respond and control the effects of floods. Therefore, the local government and citizens have set aside adequate resources to respond to the disaster.
• A Climate Economics Issue: Increased Flood Risks There is a number of flood management plans in the United Kingdom for rivers where risks are known, such as the Anglian River basin.
• The Louisville Flood Photo by Margaret Bourke-White The peculiarity of this photo is that it shows the contrast between the black people standing in line and the white ones painted on the placard.
• The Devastating Flood of 1993: Lessons Learned In order to understand the causes and consequences of the flood that occurred in the summer of 1993, it is necessary to define the meaning of the concept of flood.
• Ethical News Coverage: Indian Floods 2020 As part of the assessment of the consequences of reporting these events, it should be noted that the materials presented can attract public attention to help people in the affected areas, which is important for […]
• Addressing the Threat of Flash Flood to Birmingham, Alabama The purpose of the work is to identify the key stages of threat addressing, including mitigation steps, preparedness and communication mechanisms, and response and recovery measures to address the outcomes of such disasters.
• The Flood Stories in Different Cultures The scientific community recognizes that the oldest flood myth known to humanity is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which tells the story of Utnapishtim, who attained immortality by escaping from the flood on a ship.
• Nova Killer Floods Documentary Review Flood is a phase of the water regime of the river, which is repeated every year at the same time of year, is characterized by the highest water content, increased and prolonged rise and fall […]
• Floods in the City of Austin, Texas on October 30th, 2013 The catastrophic consequences of the devastation in Central Texas and, in particular, in the city of Austin, were caused by flooding.
• Disaster Management in the Flood Scenario In such a case, the authorities and residents should adopt disaster prevention and preparedness strategies to minimize impact and adequately brace for the expected flood magnitude.
• Flood Damage by Hurricane Maxine in Charleston The role of the mayor and his dignitaries is to determine the duration and level of use of resources by the city.
• Local Hazard Mitigation: Floods While the federal government has been actively trying to reduce the scope of the problem for years, in the past decades, economic losses from floods have been growing. Overall, in the past years, NFIP initiatives […]
• Theory of Disaster: Earthquakes and Floods as Examples of Disasters The second category is that of those people who put their focus on the effects of the social vulnerability or the disasters to the society or to the people who are likely to be the […]
• Hydrology Methods: Flood Risk Management Digital spatial information modelling and the integration of the data and information used in the decision-support system illustrate the technical basis of the paper.
• The Strategies of Flood Management However, it would be the most beneficial to implement these methods while planning the use of the land; for this reason, management is important.
• A Flood Insurance Program in Canada: The Way to Protect Lives and Homes Floods are the major source of property loss: according to the analysis made by Munich, insurance companies do not want to take all the bills they get and ignore the majority of them.
• Flood Effects That Occurred in July 2007 at Sheffield The report, therefore, entails in detail the immediate as well as the significant risks and losses caused by the flood, the factors contributing to the occurrence of floods, identification of all the agencies which were […]
• Environmental Management: Floods Management Systems Considering the significance of environmental protection in the case of floods, the present report provides a detailed overview of such natural disasters in terms of contributory causes, impact, risks, and the role of environmental management […]
• Minimizing Flood Fatalities in Canada The main goal of this study is to compile more details in regarding flood fatalities in Canada which may be useful in avoiding and preparing for flood related disasters.
• City of Jeddah’s Flood: Cause and Disastrous Effects Jeddah is a city in Saudi Arabia found in the western region.and the it is a flat, low- lying ground next to the Red Sea.
• Great Flood in Mississippi River Basin: Major Factors Mississippi River, the longest river in the United States and, with its extensive offshoots, is one of the most important river systems of the world.
• Floods: Structural vs. Non-Structural Solutions The occurrence of hazards disorients the lives and experiences of many people. The selected community can mitigate this hazard through the use of non-structural and structural solutions.
• The Ancient Near East: Civilization of Mesopotamia and Great Flood The Great Flood in Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh both depict the flood, the boat, the God of gods, and persons responsible for preserving humanity.
• Flood Disaster Recovery Plan and Stakeholders The scope of this document: responsibilities, major hardware and software procedures, disaster response, testing of the recovery plan. The purpose of this disaster recovery plan is to provide detailed guidelines to all the stakeholders when […]
• Gavin Flood’s Comparative Religion Studies In essence there is need to carry out more research in this field in order to be able to establish the role and the importance of religion in the life of human beings.
• Flood Mitigation Measures in the United States The mitigation measures for floods include the following; “control over rivers, establishing policies and legislation on the use of land such as terracing and assess to flood-prone areas”.
• Climate Change: Floods in Queensland Australia Over the recent past, the issue of climatic change has raised major concern about the well being of the recent as well as the future generation. The rail lines were also destroyed the fact that […]
• The Flood of San Antonio in 1921: Re-Evaluating the Effects, a Catastrophe Viewed Through a Different Lens However, the reconstruction of the city takes less time than the reconstruction of the environment destroyed by the flood, which is why the effects of the San Antonio flood on the environment must be reassessed.
• Year of the Flood While the Geneva Convention on Human Rights has banned the use and development of biological agents as a means of warfare, thus sparing humanity the possibility of dying due to a virulent disease, the fact […]
• The Midwest Flood of April to October 1993 The Midwest flood of April to October 1993 is arguably the greatest flood to have hit the United States in terms of coverage and duration.
• The Similarities of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah & The Flood
• The Story of the Flood- the Epic of Gilgamesh
• The Flood Has Changed History Forever
• Red River Flood of 1997 & The Breakdown of Collaborate Management
• Viability of Green Roofs as a Flood Mitigation Element in the Central Region of Chile
• Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood Of 1927 And How It Changed America, By John M. Barry
• Regional Flood Frequency Analysis in Tunisia: Identification of Regional Distributions
• The Economics During And After Kerala’s Flood Disaster
• Sustainability-Based Flood Hazard Mapping of the Swannanoa River Watershed
• The Demand for Index‐Based Flood Insurance in a High‐Income Country
• Understanding Flood Risk Decisionmaking: Implications for Flood Risk Communication Program Design
• Who Should Pay for Climate Adaptation? Public Attitudes and the Financing of Flood Protection in Florida
• Sea-Level Rise and Land Subsidence: Impacts on Flood Projections for the Mekong Delta’s Largest City
• The Flood Of Media Attention On Brain Injuries
• Spatial Variation in Flood Risk Perception: A Spatial Econometric Approach
• The Debate Over the Idea of the Genesis Flood in Genesis vs. Geology, an Essay by Steven Jay Gould
• The Affordability Goal and Prices in the National Flood Insurance Program
• The Fallibility of Flood Warning Chains: Can Europe’s Flood Warnings Be Effective
• Special Flood Hazard Effects on Coastal and Interior Home Values: One Size Does Not Fit All
• Land Use Scenario Modeling for Flood Risk Mitigation
• The Effects Of Flood Damage On Everyday Life
• The Bible According to Mark Twain: Writings on Heaven, Eden, and the Flood
• The Story Of The Flood, How Utnapishtim Tells His Story To Gilgamesh
• The City Of Vanport And Its Struggle With Racism Before And After The Flood Of Vanport
• The Importance of a Flood Free and Clean Living Community
• The Significant Key Elements on Climate Change in Before the Flood, a Documentary by Fisher Stevens
• Smoothing Income against Crop Flood Losses in Amazonia: Rain Forest or Rivers as a Safety Net
• Technological Advancements and Flood of Immigrants in the Turn of the Century in Ragtime, a Novel by John Pierpont Morgan
• The Different Versions of Flood Stories in Many Different Culture
• The Flood Story in Genesis, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Flood Story in the Holy Quran
• The Truth Behind Noah And The Great Flood
• Why the National Flood Insurance Program Is Not Financial Viable
• Risk Management Solutions For Flood And Earthquake Catastrophes In Romania
• Urban Growth and Flood Disasters in the Coastal River Basin of South-Central Chile (1943–2011)
• Regional Flood Frequency Analysis Using L-Moments for the West Mediterranean Region of Turkey
• The Intricacy of Adapting to Climate Change: Flood Protection as a Local Public Goods Game
• The Flood Accounts In The Epic Of Gilgamesh And The Genesis
• The Theme of Ancient Flood in Genesis of the Torah and the Epic of Gilgamesh
• The Differences In Gilgamesh, Atrahasis & The Deucalion & Pyrrah In Ovid Flood Myths
• The Factors that Influence the Flood Hydrograph
• The Godly Perspective of the Corruption of the World in the Story of Noah and the Flood
• The Devastation Left by the Flood in Downtown Davenport
• How Can You Survive a Flood?
• How to Promote Resistance to Flooding During Rice Germination?
• What Are the Different Techniques of Flood Forecasting?
• What Are the Consequences of Floods in Vietnam?
• Is Climate Change Leading To Extreme Floods?
• Where Is the Biggest Flood in the World?
• Are You Willing to Pay to Reduce Environmental Risks From Sewage Flooding?
• How Do Floods Affect Food Security in South Asia?
• Has Community Awareness of Flooding Improved in Boulder County, Colorado?
• What Are the Physical and Human Causes of Floods?
• When Was the Biggest Flood in Sri Lanka?
• What Could Be the Causes of a Dam Breach Leading To Flooding?
• What Are the Strategies and Practices for Urban Flood Protection?
• Does Your Insurance Cover Flooding?
• What Organisations Assist People and the Community During a Flooding Event?
• What Is the Estimated Economic Cost of Coastal Flooding?
• What Are the Steps Taken by the Government to Manage Disasters?
• Does Keeping Gutters and Drains Clear Help Against Flooding?
• How Do Drought and Flooding Affect the Development of Grain Yield?
• What Are the Types of Measures of Flood Management?
• Is Flood Insurance in the Netherlands Different From Other Countries?
• What Is the Impact of Land Use Change on Flooding Areas?
• How Pakistan Floods Linked to Climate Change?
• What Is the Interaction Between Floods and Economic Growth?
• How High Is Urban Flood Vulnerability in Guyana?
• What Are Some Tips to Prevent Basement Flooding?
• How Should We Interpret the Genesis Flood Account?
• Are Flood Risks More Physical Than Human?
• Does Water Quality Deteriorate as a Result of Severe Flooding?
• What Is the Effect of Flooding Along the Mississippi River on the Gulf of Mexico?
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