How do floods happen?
(This is for flash floods and river floods) Floods happen when too much precipitation occurs due to:
- hurricanes
- thunderstorms
- heavy
Types of Floods
River Floods-a flood that is caused from the overflow of a body of water and occurs over a long enough time, so as not to be a flash flood
Flash Flood-a flood that is due to a short period of heavy rain and lasts for several hours at the most.
Coastal-when low ground is flooded by sea water
Flash Flood-a flood that is due to a short period of heavy rain and lasts for several hours at the most.
Coastal-when low ground is flooded by sea water
What does flooding do to ecosystems?
The flooding causes the uproot of trees, plants and the loss of soil which leads to:
Some animals survive since they have another food source (Biodiversity). Example: The mimus polyglottos or the Northern Mockingbird inhabits Texas. Since it is a bird it wouldn't drown and would be able to satisfy its diet since it eats lots of things: arthropods, earthworms, berries, fruits, seeds, and seldom, lizards. This bird drinks from puddles, river and lake edges, or dew and rain droplets, so water is not a problem. Adult mocking birds drinks the sap of trees, so it it could drink sap of the uprooted, mostly submerged trees. The Northern Mocking bird does migrate south, so if the flood is too overwhelming it can escape.
We normally associate flooding with disaster, but there are positive effects:
- loss of habitats of animals
- loss of food for animals
- death of animals from lost diet and lost habitat
- death of predators that prey on these animals & die of starvation
- animals die from drowning
- food chains are broken
- food webs are damaged
- drowned crops
- human's water supply contaminated =cutoff of water supply
- sewage spills= cutoff of water supply
- mud-slides
- flooded buildings (now unusable)
Some animals survive since they have another food source (Biodiversity). Example: The mimus polyglottos or the Northern Mockingbird inhabits Texas. Since it is a bird it wouldn't drown and would be able to satisfy its diet since it eats lots of things: arthropods, earthworms, berries, fruits, seeds, and seldom, lizards. This bird drinks from puddles, river and lake edges, or dew and rain droplets, so water is not a problem. Adult mocking birds drinks the sap of trees, so it it could drink sap of the uprooted, mostly submerged trees. The Northern Mocking bird does migrate south, so if the flood is too overwhelming it can escape.
We normally associate flooding with disaster, but there are positive effects:
- renewal of ground water
- nutrients to water
- fresher air
- nutrients to soil
Influences of Flooding
Nature:
Humans:
- Heavy rain
- Hurricanes
- Cyclones
- Tsunamis
- Soil holding too much water
- Snow thawing (but rarely happens in Texas)
- Low-slopping plains (overflow with precipitation)
Humans:
- Breakage of dams or other man-made water holding things
- Chopping of trees
- Urbanization
- Mining
The Great Flood of 1935
The Great Flood of 1935 took place as the Colorado River Bridge in Columbus, Texas. Heavy rains rained upon Austin, San Antonio, and other cities. The Colorado river flooded (River Flood) and caused a lot of damage to houses, trees, and animals.