Signature Assignment E-Portfolio

By Kelsee Rascon
The European Country is suffering from massive flooding, specifically in
Belgium. The cities hit hardest are the ones that are closest to the black sea which
include Varna and Asparuhovo. Not only is the flooding damaging the city but it is
also creating mudslides and people have been in danger.
Not only was Belgium hit pretty hard just a few weeks ago, Europe in general
had been hit with floods that are the worst people have seen in decades. People have
cancelled big events and many summer travelers have cancelled planned trips or
have gone home early because of the massive flooding. The economy has been hit
hard in Europe.
The water from the flooding has risen up to as high as 30 feet and keeps
rising every time there is a storm. The water is taken from the black sea and brought
over during the rainstorms, which causes massive flooding from the large amounts
of precipitation. People arent usually prepared when this kind of storm hits so
quickly, many homes, cars and roads are damaged immensely.
In the country Belgium there is massive flooding and mudslides in the largest
city, Varna. It has been flooded with water throughout the city interrupting daily life
and creating a lot of chaos for the people. The water is coming in from the Black sea
and many people are worried this isnt the end of the floods. The town of
Asparuhovo was hit the hardest in the city and the streets it has become impossible
to commute. Cars and building have been damaged by all of the water. Many of the
streets have turned into rivers and most of the places where people use to walk are
now covered completely with water. People saw homes being ripped before them
from the water and hundreds of cars were carried down the street. As of right now,
11 people have died from this powerful storm. The rainfall has more than doubled
and continues to rain there now. There were many people who went missing and
thousands of people went without electricity and food. The prime minister has
declared a state of emergency and that this flood has been a huge tragedy.
Not only has Beligum been struck pretty hard from these specific
storms but all over the European Country people have been affected by massive
flooding. There have been many storms across the Western and Eastern Europe.
Many people have lost lives, their homes and have had to recover with such
devastating realization that they have to start over from pretty much what they
have on their backs.
Global warming has become the main cause to all of these floods. There is a
low-pressure weather pattern that seems to be staying in the same ahead. The
warmer air that occurs can hold more moisture and that creates heavier
precipitation. Global warming can increase the frequencies from the heavy rainfall,
which sometimes can become pretty intense.
Recent decades brought more dry air rather than so much rain. Russia is now
is a pretty rough drought spot right now. That is why experts are still so stumped as
to why Europe is experiencing such harsh flooding and rainfall. The changing
climate conditions are now holding in warmer air that can hold much more
moisture. With many more years to come global warming is expected to increase the
precipitation in the years to come. This is not the end of the flooding for Europe. If
anything it will increase much more and the world will begin to see a lot more
different weather patterns.

The European Commission has said that they are willing to help any victims
or people involved with the current flooding conditions. But from everything I have
researched I think they are still trying to decide what would be the best way to
handle the environmental problem. They are still unsure why the weather pattern
has changed so drastically over the years. They cant figure out why Russia is in such
a drought yet, Europe on the other hand is being poured upon with more water than
they can handle.
Flooding can be an impossible thing to keep away from destroying homes,
roads, even taking lives. They have come up with a system called, the (EFAS) which,
stands for European Floods Awareness System. This system tracks when there could
be a possible flooding disaster and can warn the Europeans when there may be a
severe storm heading there way with possible flooding. It gives them a warning tie
with about 3 days in advance. This helps the national and region systems have a
better way of receiving communication and to know what to plan for and what to
expect.
The best way they can handle the climate change is to prepare in the best
way that they can. They can pack sand bags to keep as much water out as they can.
Also making sure there is enough food, water and living supplies needed if they have
power outages from the flooding that could take awhile to fix.



MY REFLECTION:

After researching more about the floods in Belgium and Europe as a whole. It
really has made a big impact on me in my life. Not only is this country being affected
by flooding, but we are also undergoing a large climate change throughout the
world. The weather patterns have really become abnormal and I think as a human
being in the world we need to take charge and help out as much as we can.
I have never been too big watching the news or knowing what is going on
around the world. But I think we all need to take part in helping our society with the
aftermath from destruction such as flooding and mudslides. You see things in the
news but then it all goes away in the media after a few days. The people who were
struck by such devastation are the ones who end up suffering most of the time. They
do not receive the help they need to recover from such devastation.
The floods in Europe have been going on for a period of time but are
increasingly getting worse due to the effects of climate change. Although, flooding
may still occur there are still ways that we can try to protect our homes and people
from dying. It is helpful that they have come up with s system that will notify the
citizens when something devastating could happen in their city. Its nice to know
that they will be given enough warning time.
When it rains people need to plan ahead and not risk going outside in case of
a major flood happening. I feel the need to help my community more even just in the
Salt Lake Valley. We may not have floods like they are experiencing in Europe but
we have plenty of our own climate problems here such as a massive earthquake we
dont know when it will hit. The best things we can do would be to prepare for the
worst and have extra food, water and a place to meet family. I learned you really
cannot always know what the weather will do and that preparing for the worst is
really the best way to be prepared for any situation you may be in.







































Works Cited
Boyle, Darren. "Plucked from Certain Death: Moment Man Was Saved from Flash Floods That
Killed a Dozen in Bulgaria." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 20 June 2014. Web.
02 July 2014.
Milanova, Boriana, and Brandon Miller. "Nearly Dozen Die in Bulgaria Flooding." CNN. Cable
News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 02 July 2014.

http://www.worldissues360.com/index.php/muddy-floods-control-belgian-loess-
catchment-soil-erosion-earth-dams-14679/
"82 Die in Europe's Worst Floods for Decades." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, n.d.
Web. 15 July 2014.
"European Union EU Floods Portal :: Flooding Forecast in Europe." European Union EU
Floods Portal :: Flooding Forecast in Europe. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 July 2014.
Goldenberg, Suzanne. "8 Charts That Show How Climate Change Is Making the World More
Dangerous." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 14 July 2014. Web. 14 July
2014.