High water is a sharp increase in water level in a river or other body of water. Regardless of the causes of occurrence (there may be several), the phenomenon differs from floods by its short duration and suddenness. That is, when a river or lake after rain or sudden melting of snow leaves the banks, this is the flood. The meaning of the word quite accurately determines the essence of the process.
Possible Flood Causes
If we consider the events that precede this phenomenon and become its main reason, then there can be several. Firstly, long torrential rain, as a result of which water bodies leave the banks. The flood period after heavy rainfall is usually very short and lasts literally several hours. However, because of its swiftness, even such a short-lived phenomenon can cause serious damage. With repeated rainfall in the same territory, multi-peak floods are sometimes observed. This event is characterized by periodic spills of water bodies with flooding of nearby territories.
What is the flood, well-known residents of settlements near the mouths of large rivers. Flooding often comes with warming and is the result of the rapid melting of ice and snow. This type of flood lasts long enough, but it is easier to predict than the one that occurs after rain.
Consequences of the phenomenon
The main danger of the flood is its unpredictability. Meteorologists can predict precipitation, but their calculations are not always correct, and it is not so easy to know the intensity of rain in advance. As a result of the spill of large rivers, a rapid stream arises, capable of destroying houses and other buildings, bridges, and flushing equipment. Such a wave can damage agriculture by drowning animals and flushing crops from the fields.
Unfortunately, residents of settlements located in lowlands and near full-flowing rivers are well aware of what the flood is and try to prepare for it in advance. However, this is only possible if the cause is not rains, but the melting of ice and snow.
Dealing with the consequences
Since this event rarely leads to global financial losses, problems arising as a result of such a disaster are resolved at the local level. Undoubtedly, people who survived this calamity and learned from their own experience what floods are, will agree with the need for urgent emergency rescue operations at the place of its occurrence. But if there are no victims among the population, nothing threatens their lives and health, liquidation of consequences is carried out on their own. When significant damage is caused to buildings and property, the state pays compensation. In order to avoid repeated flooding, dams and other coastline fortifications are being constructed.
