How are floods predicted?
Several types of data can be collected to assist hydrologists predict when and where floods might occur. The first and most important is monitoring the amount of rainfall occurring on a realtime (actual) basis. Second, monitoring the rate of change in river stage on a realtime basis can help indicate the severity and immediacy of the threat. Third, knowledge about the type of storm producing the moisture, such as duration, intensity, areal extent, etc., is valuable for determining possible severity of the flooding. And fourth, knowledge about the characteristics of a river’s drainage basin, such as soil-moisture conditions, ground temperature, snowpack, topography, vegetation cover, impermeable land area, etc., can help to predict how extensive and damaging an impending flood might become. Floods are a dangerous hazard throughout the world. On average in the United States, about 165 people are killed and about $2 billion of damage occurs each year. Most people underestimate the power a
Several types of data can be collected to assist hydrologists in predicting when and where floods might occur. The first and most important is the amount of rainfall occurring on a realtime (actual) basis, and second is the rate of change in river stage on a realtime basis. The rate of change can help indicate the severity and immediacy of the threat. Data about the type of storm producing the moisture, such as duration, intensity, and areal extent, are valuable for determining the possible severity of the flooding, and data about the characteristics of a river’s drainage basin, such as soil-moisture conditions, ground temperature, snowpack, topography, vegetation cover, and impermeable land area, are valuable for predicting how extensive and damaging an impending flood might become. There are two basic kinds of floods, flash floods and the more widespread river flooding. Flash floods generally cause greater loss of life, and river floods generally cause greater loss of property. A fla
