-

-
|
- The
Topic:
- Floods
& Flooding
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- Easier - A flood is a
very large number or amount of something that rises and
spreads. A stream, river, or lake floods when water
overflows beyond its banks. Flooding waters cover land
that is usually dry.
-
- Harder - A portion of
the water from rain or snow is retained by the soil. Some
water is absorbed by the lands vegetation. A portion of
the excess water evaporates into the air. But the
remaining water drains into stream channels as runoff.
Flooding occurs when the soil and vegetation cannot
absorb all the water, and the water runoff is a quantity
exceeding the capacity of the stream channels, natural
ponds, and constructed reservoirs. Approximately 30
percent of all precipitation becomes runoff, and the
amount can be greatly increased by melting snow
masses.
-
- A flood that rises and falls rapidly with little or
no advance warning is called a flash flood. They are
usually the result of intense rainfall over a relatively
small area. Streams and rivers periodically flood and the
adjacent dry lands that are covered are called flood
plains. The main causes of floods are heavy rains and
fast-melting snow masses. Coastal areas are occasionally
flooded by unusually high tides caused by severe winds
over the ocean surfaces, or by tsunamis resulting from
undersea earthquakes. Coastal flooding can also be caused
by intense rain squalls that accompany a hurricane.
-
- Floods can damage and destroy property. They endanger
the lives of people and animals. Flooding currents erode
the flood plains and carry and deposit sediment
downstream. The habitat of fish and other wildlife are
often destroyed. The financial losses due to flooding
amounts to millions of dollars every year. Many of the
methods used for flood control have been practiced since
ancient times including reforestation, and the
construction of levees, dams and reservoirs, and flood
channels to redirect floodwater.
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- Flash
Food (Grades 3-10) from KGAN's
WeatherEye
- http://weathereye.kgan.com/cadet/flood/
- This is an interactive lesson about flash floods and
other types of floods.
- Another Online Flood Lesson:
- 2) Life in the Flood Zone (Grades 8-12) from The
Cincinnati Enquirer
- http://www.cincinnati.com/nie/archive/06-12-01/
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- Flood
from PBS NOVA Online
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/flood/
- Here you find lots of information about flooding of
the Mississippi, Nile, and Yellow Rivers.
- Related Websites from PBS:
- 2) Floods from Online NewsHour http://www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/floods.html
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- Flood
from Storm Encyclopedia at Weather.com
- http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/flood/
- This comprehensive site is a good starting point for
learning about floods.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Climate Change and River Flooding: Special Report
from Greenpeace
- http://archive.greenpeace.org/~climate/flood_report/index.html
- 3) Flood and Flash Flood from American Red
Cross
- http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/readyflood.html
- 4) Flood Q & A from RiverWatch Online
http://www.prairiepublic.org/features/riverwatch/q&a/index.html
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- Floods
from Environment Canada
- http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/manage/floodgen/e_floods.htm
- This is a comprehensive site for information on
floods.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Flood from The Environment Agency (United
Kingdom)
- http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood/
- 3) Flood Damage Reduction Program http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/manage/flood/e_fdrp.htm
- 4) Floods from National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) http://www.noaa.gov/floods.html
- 5) Resources: Floods and Droughts from USA Today
Weather http://www.usatoday.com/weather/whydro00.htm
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- You may also want to visit these related
42eXplore projects from eduScapes: (1) Disaster,
Catastrophe & Calamity, (2)
Drought,
(3) Rivers,
(4) Mississippi
River, (5) Water,
(6) Weather,
and (7) Wetlands.
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- After visiting several of the websites,
complete one or more of the following
activities.
-
- Create A Flood pamphlet. Choose
one of these topics for your focus: (1) Flash
Flood Safety, (2) Preparing for a Flood, and
(3) After the Flood - Returning to Normal.
Use the websites and other library media
resources to research the selected topic.
Then create an attractive and informative
pamphlet.
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- Debate River Management & Flood
Control Issues. Using the articles below
or other resources that you find, pick an
issue, decide where you stand and prepare an
argument that identifies and supports your
opinion.
- 1) Can We Prevent Floods in the Red River
Valley? by B. Reha of Minnesota Public
Radio
- http://news.mpr.org/features/200207/17_rehab_mitigation-m/
- 2) China's Three Gorges Dam by B. Kennedy
from CNN Interactive
- http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/asian.superpower/three.gorges/
- 3) Damming the Missouri from American
Rivers http://www.americanrivers.org/missouririver/damming.htm
- 4) Flood Control Projects Endanger
Recreation by J. Reiman from Prism
Online
- http://www.journalism.sfsu.edu/www/pubs/prism/apr96/18.html
- 5) Floodplains and Wetlands from
American Rivers http://www.americanrivers.org/flood/default.htm
- 6) Forty Years of Controversy and
Achievement in North American Fisheries by
J.L.
- Rasmussen, U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service
- http://wwwaux.cerc.cr.usgs.gov/MICRA/River%20Issues.pdf
- 7) Harnessing Rivers
II by K. Sharma
- http://www.panos.org.np/programmes/water_articles/hindu_harnessing_river2.htm
- 8) Have Flood Controls on the Mississippi
River Been Successful?
- http://earthsci.terc.edu/content/investigations/es1308/es1308page01.cfm
- 9) Wisconsin Dam Removals Bring Support,
Fun, Fish by S. Devlin of the
Missoulian
- http://www.missoulian.com/specials/milltown/removals.html
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- Create A Flood Poster. Decide what
is the most important public issue related to
floods and flooding. Then create an
eye-catching poster that communicates a
message. Display the poster!
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- Conduct A Flood Interview. What
floods have occurred in your region? Find
friends, neighbors, and/or relatives who have
experienced a flood. Conduct an interview
with them to gather their recollections of
the event. You will find lots of help with
this process (Learn how to do it right) at
another 42eXplore project, Oral
History, also from eduScapes.
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- Monitor This Year's Flood Season.
Pick a time-period (week, month, or 2-3
months) and monitor flooding in the United
States, North America, and/or the World. You
can do some of this online using sites such
as:
- 1) All Flooding from Hydrologic
Information Center of National Weather
Service
- http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/flooding.shtml
- 2) Dartmouth Flood Observatory from
Dartmouth College
- http://www.dartmouth.edu/artsci/geog/floods/
- 3) Earth Watch http://www.disasterrelief.org/EarthWatch/
- 4) FloodRisk from EarthSat
http://www.earthsat.com/wx/flooding/floodrisk.html
- 5) Significant River Flood Outlook from
National Weather Service
- http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/nationalfloodoutlook/
- 6) Wild Weather http://www.wildweather.com/
- But you may also include other media
resources such as newspapers, television, and
magazines. Keep a log that dates, identifies,
and locates each flood. You may want to
develop a world map showing the location.
Gather as much data as possible regarding the
severity, duration, and impact of each flood
event. Create a flood "scrapbook" that
includes all your research and include a
summary and your own reflective thoughts.
Your flood scrapbook could be virtual - - a
webpage or multimedia project.
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- Analyze A Historic Flood. Pick a
significant flood that has occurred and
analyze it to identify the probable causes,
the effects and impacts, and suggestions for
lessening or eliminating future flooding
occurrences. Summarize your findings.
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- Websites By Kids For Kids
- Brabant
Fights Against Water (2000 ThinkQuest Internet
Challenge)
- http://library.thinkquest.org/C001635F/
- This site tells what causes the floods and how floods
are fought by people in Holland.
-
- Committee
for the Citizens' Protection from Floods (1999
ThinkQuest Internet Challenge)
- http://library.thinkquest.org/28986/
- For many years flooding has been the main problem of
this land (12 flooding events occurred in the last 60
years), causing high risks even for the peoples
safety.
-
- Floods
and Flash Floods (Grade 7)
- http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/floods.html
- This project page provides information on flooding
and types of floods.
-
- More Websites
- Backgrounder:
Floods And Flash Floods from Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA)
- http://www.fema.gov/hazards/floods/flood.shtm
- Flash floods and floods are the #1 weather - related
killer recorded in the U.S. each year. Learn what to do
before, during, and after floods.
- Related Section from Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA):
- 2) Basics of Flooding http://www.floodplain.org/flood_basics.htm
- Related Websites:
- 3) Are You Ready for a Flood or a Flash Flood? from
the American Red Cross
- http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/readyflood.pdf
- 4) Are You Ready for a Flood or a Flash Flood?
http://www.disasterrelief.org/Library/Prepare/flood.html
- 5) Flash Flood from National Weather Service
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/owlie/flashflo.htm
- 6) Flash Food Safety from National Weather
Service
- http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/severewx/safety.html#flashflood
- 7) Flood Preparation from RiverWatch Online
http://www.prairiepublic.org/features/riverwatch/flood_preparation/index.html
- 8) Floods: What to Do Before and After from the
Canadian Mortgage and Housing
- Corporation http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/burema/coem/flood/flwhbeaf/index.cfm
-
- Dartmouth
Flood Observatory from Dartmouth
College
- http://www.dartmouth.edu/artsci/geog/floods/
- This project uses remote sensing technology as a tool
for early detection, mapping, measurement, and analysis
of worldwide extreme flood events. In addition to
downloadable satellite images, there is a register of
international large river flooding for the last several
years in their site.
- Related Websites:
- 2) All Flooding from Hydrologic Information
Center of National Weather Service
- http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/flooding.shtml
- 3) FloodRisk from EarthSat http://www.earthsat.com/wx/flooding/floodrisk.html
- 4) Significant River Flood Outlook from National
Weather Service
- http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/nationalfloodoutlook/
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- Evolution
of the 1936 Flood Control Act (Advanced level
document) from United States Army Corps of
Engineers
- http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/usace-docs/eng-pamphlets/ep870-1-29/
- The origin of the Flood Control Act of 1936 dates
back to the 19th century, even though it was passed by
Congress as part of Roosevelt's New Deal
administration.
-
- Floods
and Flood Plains from U.S. Geological
Survey
- http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/FS/OFR93-641/index.html
- Look at what causes floods and how the risks can be
reduced.
-
- Flood
Information for Your Home from North Dakota
State University Extension Service
- http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/flood/home.htm
- Here is information for before and after a
flood.
- Related Websites:
- 2) After the Flood Information from North Dakota
State University Extension Service
- http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/flood/afterpkt.htm
- 3) Fact Sheet: Flood Cleanup - Avoiding Indoor Air
Quality Problems from U.S.
- Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/flood.html
- 4) Flood from National Center for Environmental
Health http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/emergency/flood/default.htm
- 5) Flood Cleanup Information from Iowa Cooperative
Extension Services
- http://www.exnet.iastate.edu/Information/Flood/
- 6) Flooded http://www.floodrecovery.co.uk/
- 7) Flood Recovery from RiverWatch Online
- http://www.prairiepublic.org/features/riverwatch/flood_recovery/index.html
- 8) Flood Recovery Booklet from Iowa
Conservation and Preservation Consortium http://www.neirls.org/flood_recovery/flood_cover.html
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- How
Do Trees and Plants Help Prevent Flooding? from
Yahooligans! Ask Earl
- http://www.yahooligans.com/content/ask_earl/20020204.html
- This brief site answers the question . . .
-
- Learning
Center from Floodplain Management
Association
- http://www.floodplain.org/learning_center.htm
- This nonprofit Association was established in 1990 to
promote the reduction of flood losses and to encourage
the protection and enhancement of natural flood plain
values. Members include representatives of federal, state
and local government agencies as well as private
firms.
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- National
Flood Insurance Program from Federal Emergency
Management Association (FEMA)
- http://www.floodalert.fema.gov/
- In 1968, Congress created the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP) in response to the rising
cost of taxpayer funded disaster relief for flood victims
and the increasing amount of damage caused by
floods.
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- Sandbagging
for Flood Protection by G. Maher from North
Dakota State University Extension Service
- http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/ageng/safety/ae626w.htm
- Learn how to build a proper sandbag dike to prevent
or reduce flood damage.
- Related Website:
- 2) How to Construct a Sandbag Emergency Levee
http://www.co.dane.wi.us/ems/sandbag.html
- 3) Sandbag Construction from U.S. Corp of
Engineers http://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/emb/sandbag.html
- 4) Sandbag Dike Construction http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/wat/flood/sandbag.html
-
- Stream
Gaging and Flood Forecasting-partnership of the
U.S. Geological Survey & National Weather
Service
- http://water.usgs.gov/wid/FS_209-95/mason-weiger.html
- The National Weather Service (NWS), which is
part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, is widely known as the Federal agency
in charge of weather forecasting and warning for the
Nation. In addition, the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) operates and maintains more than 85 percent of
the Nation's stream-gaging stations, which includes 98
percent of those that are used for real-time river
forecasting.
-
- Who
needs Flood Insurance? from The Consumer
Insurance Guide
- http://www.insure.com/home/flood/
- Learn about home flood insurance policies.
- Related Website:
- 2) Flood Insurance from RiverWatch Online
http://www.prairiepublic.org/features/riverwatch/flood_insurance/index.html
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- Specific Floods
- Bangladesh
Floods Rise Again from BBC News
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/157254.stm
- Flooding is an annual event in Bangladesh. But the
1998, the flood continued for more than 65 days, affected
1,00,000 sq.km.areas, and destroyed basic infrastructures
like roads, bridges, houses, standing crops of the
fields, plus killed birds, animal and cattle, and 2,000
people.
- Related Sites:
- 2) Bangladesh Drowning Under a Sea of Flood Waters,
Sewage by D. Rekenthaler
- http://www.disasterrelief.org/Disasters/980916Bangladesh/
- 3) Bangladesh: Record Floods are a Human, Economic
Emergency by T. Islam
- http://www.oneworld.org/ips2/sept98/09_41_010.html
- 4) Collapse of Bangladesh Dam Averted, But Epic
Floods Continue by J. Brill
- http://www.disasterrelief.org/Disasters/980909Bangladesh/
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- East
Coast Floods 1953
- http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/426221/
- On the night of 31 January 1953, the east coast of
England suffered one of the worst floods in living memory
and one of the biggest environmental disasters ever to
have occurred in this country.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Lynmouth Flood of 1952 http://www.thisisnep.co.uk/schoolshout/floods1.htm
- 3) Lynmouth Flood http://homepage.dtn.ntl.com/d.huxtable
-
- Fatal
Flood from PBS American Experience
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flood/
- This site explores one of the most devastating
natural disasters in U.S. History, the 1927 Mississippi
River flood that killed hundreds.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Flood of 1927 from Arkansas Delta Cultural
Center http://www.arkansasdeltageography.com/flood/
- 3) Flood of 1927 from United States Army Corp of
Engineers
- http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/MRC-History-Center/gallery/flood/flood2.html
- 4) Great Flood from National Geographic
- http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/05/0501_river4.html
-
- Flood
of 1997: Rivers Unleashed from The Cincinnati
Enquirer
- http://enquirer.com/flood_of_97/
- A special commemorative section about the deadly 1997
flood in Ohio includes news stories, photos,
explanations, and facts about other infamous floods.
- Related Websites:
- 2) 1997 Flood in Grand Forks, North Dakota http://www.draves.com/gf/index.htm
- 3) Fargo Flood from North Dakota State University
http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/fargoflood/
- 4) Flood of the Century http://www.geo.mtu.edu/department/classes/ge404/mlbroder/
- 5) Flood on '97 (Manitoba, Canada) http://www.canoe.ca/Flood/home.html
- 6) Red River Diary http://www.manflood.com/main.htm
- 7) Who Decides? Forecasts and Responsibilities in the
1997 Red River Flood by R.A.
- Pielke, Jr. http://www.esig.ucar.edu/redriver/index.html
-
- Flood
of the Century by A. Henrikson of The Topeka
Capital-Journal
- http://cjonline.com/webindepth/flood/stories/071201_ktwuflood.shtml
- Learn about the Kansas flood of 1951.
-
- Grand
Canyon Flood!
- http://www.kuat.org/gcf/index.html
- In order to restore the natural balance of the river,
a historic release of water was spilled from the Glen
Canyon Dam on March 26, 1996, producing a man-made flood.
Considered to be one of the biggest river experiments
ever, researchers hoped to determine a better scientific
basis for future management of all the river's
resources.
-
- Great
USA Flood of 1993 by L.W. Larson
- http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/floods/papers/oh_2/great.htm
- The 1993 Midwest flood was one of the most
significant and damaging natural disasters ever to hit
the United States.
- Related Website:
- 2) Flood Analysis by P. Baumann http://umbc7.umbc.edu/~tbenja1/baumann/mod2.html
- 3) Great Flood of Summer 1993 from Earth in
Space http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/walker.html
- 4) Mississippi River Flood: 1993 http://lists.uakron.edu/geology/natscigeo/lectures/streams/miss_flood.htm#weather
-
- Johnstown Flood
National Memorial from National Park
Service
- http://www.nps.gov/jofl/
- Learn about the 1889 flood that devastated
Pennsylvania.
- Related Website:
- 2) Cause of the Johnstown Flood by W.S. Frank
http://smoter.com/flooddam/johnstow.htm
- 3) History of the Johnstown Flood http://prr.railfan.net/documents/JohnstownFlood.html
- 4) Johnstown Flood http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/historic/nws/johnstown.html
- 5) Johnstown Flood http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/GIsenberg/flood.htm
- 6) Johnstown Flood Museum from Johnstown Area
Heritage Association http://www.jaha.org/flood/
- 7) Johnstown Flood National Memorial from National
Park Service
- http://www.nps.gov/jofl/home.htm
- 8) Roar Like Thunder, A http://www.johnstownpa.com/History/hist19.html
-
- Mozambique
Floods 2000 from BBC News
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/655510.stm
- See photos of the flooding, read first hand accounts,
and learn how life in Mozambique returned to normal.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Floods in Mozambique http://www.mozambique.mz/floods/
- 3) Mozambique Floods http://www.oxfam.org.uk/atwork/emerg/mozamb.htm
- 4) Mozambique Floods from Guardian
Unlimited
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/Mozambique/
-
- What
We Have Learned Since The Big Thompson Flood by
E. Gruntfest from University of Colorado
- http://www.uccs.edu/~geogenvs/flood/
- On July 31, 1976, the Big Thompson Canyon was filled
with residents and visitors. That night a flash flood
ravaged the canyon causing the worst natural disaster, in
terms of documented lives lost, in Colorado state
history.
- Related Website:
- 2) Big Thompson Canyon Flood of 1976
- http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/flood/tom76.html
-
- Willamette
Valley Flood of 1996
- http://zebu.uoregon.edu/1996/es202/flood.html
- This site identifies the causes of the flood,
contains photos, and makes comparisons to the flood of
1964.
-
- Websites For Teachers
- Chasing
the Flood (Grades 7-12) from Center for Global
Environmental Education, Hamline
University
- http://cgee.hamline.edu/rivers/Inquiry/CF/
- As changing climatic and seasonal conditions change
water levels in rivers worldwide, participants in Chasing
the Flood document the changing snow depth, precipitation
rates, and water levels in their local rivers.
-
- Flood
(Grades 6-8) from DiscoverySchool
- http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/flood/
- This experiment helps students understand that
different types of soil have different capacities for
retaining rainwater.
-
- Flood
- Loaded Down (Grades 3-5) from Discovery
Channel School
- http://school.discovery.com/schoolfeatures/featurestories/earthalert/flood/3-5.html
- Rivers carry pieces of rock from mountains to the
oceans. But when water slows down, what happens to that
sediment?
-
- Flood
Plains and Levees from Lockview High
School, Fall River, Nova Scotia
- http://www.lockview.ednet.ns.ca/grass_roots/landscapes/lesson5.html
- Students recognize the spatial distribution of
rivers, valley floors, flood plains, levees, and
meanders.
-
- Here
Comes The Flood . . . Maybe (Grades 6-12)
- http://www.catskillcenter.org/programs/csp/H20/Lesson4/flood.htm
- Students will role play both New York City residents
and local villagers trying to decide whether to construct
a new reservoir. Students present their opinions on
whether or not the reservoir should be built. Then the
class, representing the State Water Commission, decides
what to do.
-
- Overflowing
the Banks (Grades 3-8) from Education
World
- http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2127.shtml
- Students discover how levees hold a river within its
banks and cause the height of the river to rise and back
up into less well-protected tributaries (small streams)
that feed into the river.
-
- Raven
and the Flood
- http://www.readinga-z.com/newfiles/levels/lesson_plans/n/raven_flood/ravenandtheflood_print.html
- Raven and the Flood is a tale loosely based on
the story of Noah's ark. After a huge flood, Raven and
Dove are sent to find land. Both return, each with a
different piece of evidence that there is dry land. This
text could be used as an introduction to a social studies
unit on the effects of flooding in various parts of the
world.
-
- Run
for Your Lives! The Johnstown Flood of 1889
(Grades 5-12) by F. Metcalf, Teaching with Historic
Places
- http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/5johnstown/5johnstown.htm
- Learners examine maps, photographs, and written
records to analyze the circumstances that caused the
flood and to explain how it could have been
prevented.
-
- What's
a Flood? (Grade 4) by J. Davidson
- http://homepages.wmich.edu/~j1davids/floods.htm
- Students will demonstrate what a flood is, what
causes a flood, the impacts of human activity, and ways
flood progression can be slowed.
-

-
-
-
- Created by
Annette
Lamb and
Larry
Johnson,
2/03.
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