Flood is the most commonly affecting natural disaster. Floods are mainly caused because of the drastically changing climatic conditions and global warming. The hazards of flood can be local that affect only a small community of people or sometimes it may also affect the entire state or country depending upon the severity of flood. This article on how to prevent floods will give you simple preventive measures.
Damage caused due to floods can be minimal most of the times, but at times it can cause great damage to the flora and fauna. Domestic life, wild life, trees, land and human beings fall prey to floods. If you are living in a flood prone area then you need to take extra precautions to protect yourself. Floods can also be a danger for the life under water.
Floods also decrease the fertility of the land as they wash large amounts of nutrients along with them when they affect farms.
How to prevent floods:
- Unnecessary cutting of trees is the primary reason for floods. Roots of the trees penetrate deep inside the ground and help in holding the rain water. In the absence of these trees the rain water directly flows into the rivers and sea and raises their level. This cause floods.
- Planting trees and preventing deforestation is very essential to address the rising problem of floods in many countries. Tress will help in retaining the extra water that flows into the rivers.
- Decreasing number of trees is also increasing the temperature that is increasing the rate of evaporation. As a result of increasing rate of evaporation heavy rains in some of the regions are causing floods.
- Terracing hillsides will also help in making the flow of water down the hills slow. This will also decrease the risk of floods.
- Man made channels can be constructed to prevent floods. Floodways are constructed in many countries that prevent the water from bursting out of the rivers and streams.
- It is seen that certain rivers are more prone to floods as compared to other rivers. Such rivers should be managed carefully by the localities of that region. Their houses should be well protected such that the floods do not cause too much of effect on their lives.
- River banks can be protected using reservoirs, weirs, levees and bunds. These prevent the water from the rivers from bursting the water out into the cities when the water level in the rivers rises beyond a certain level. Even if the water rises above the level of these protective walls then the damage caused is less when compared to the rivers that don’t have any such defenses. These defenses can be used only for the rivers.
- In case of large water bodies such as sea and oceans we need to build sea walls, barrier islands and beach nourishment. These are used in countries like America and Europe to address coastal floods.
- Some of the countries use dike to control the floods. Dikes help in lowering the risk due to the floods. They help in controlling the damage caused due to the floods. They can be used in combination with other flood control methods.
- We can use tide gates in combination with the dikes. These tides gates are built at the mouth of small rivers and streams where an estuary begins.
- These tide gates help in preventing the tidal water from moving on the land. These tidal gates basically get closed during the incoming tides and open during the outgoing tides thus helping in preventing the floods.
- The opening and closing of the gate is managed by the difference in the water level on either side of the gate.
- Tide gates can also be used in combination with the dikes and culverts.
- We can also use a weir to prevent the floods. A weir is a small overflow dam that is used to raise the level of the river. These weirs are mostly used to create mill ponds. They prevent the water from overflowing through the river.
- You also need to build your house following proper technique if you are living in a flood prone area. You need to take extra while the construction of basements and drains. Improper drainage system is the major problem during floods.
- You can take help of the experts while constructing your house and prepare yourself for any emergency situations.
The preventive measures given above are very helpful in preventing the floods and reduce the damage caused due to these floods.
Related Tags: how to prevent floods, ways to prevent flood, how to prevent flood, how to prevent flooding, WAYS TO PREVENT FLOODING, ways to prevent floods, ways of preventing floods, prevent flood
Related Content: