Flooding

Case Studies

South Asia, 2007

South Asia usually has floods during

the summer months because;
South Asia has a monsoon climate,
meaning 80% of the rain falls in just
four months
Most of South Asia is low lying land,
and 90% of this land is less than
10m above sea level
South Asia is near to the Himalayas,
and during the summer months,
there is an increase in melting snow
and ice, which increases the
discharge in the Brahmaputra River

However during July and August of

2007, the flooding was
particularly severe in Bangladesh
and India

The Physical Factors

The physical factors were the
main
reason why parts of South Asia
were
flooded.
This is because;

They had a very dry summer,

then the monsoon came quickly
There was heavy rainfall which
totalled 900mm for July
The long duration of heavy rain,
saturated the soil, which
increased surface run off and
increased discharge

The Human Factors

Human factors werent the main
cause but they made the
flooding
worse.
This is because;

Deforestation in Nepal and the

Himalayas meant less rainfall was
intercepted, therefore it increased
the discharge
The growth in urban areas also
meant there was more surface
run off which led into the rivers
and increased there discharge
The collapse in the old earth dams
in India, made the flooding worse

Social Impacts
Over 2,000 people died because many
refused to evacuate as they would have
to leave their land and livestock
unattended. Also many children drowned
because they couldnt swim and poor
transport links meant that the evacuation
process was slow for those who chose to
leave
Over 100,000 people became ill with
diseases such as diarrhoea and dysentery
as wells became polluted with sewage
and there was a lack of clean water
Around 25,000,000 people were made
homeless as 112,000 homes were
destroyed when the mud bricks became
saturated by the floodwater
4,000 schools were damaged but 44 were
totally destroyed therefore children
missed out on their education

Economic Impacts
The cost of the flood was estimated
around $1billion which included damage
to crops and properties
Factories were closed due to flood
damage and the loss of raw materials
such as rice
A widespread loss of cattle meant that
the 80% of Bangladeshis who rely on
farming lost their livelihood
550,000 hectares of land couldnt be
planted with rice during peak time as
the fields were flooded, therefore the
worlds price in rice rose by 10%
Debts increased for both individuals and
the governments as farmers paid for
seeds and food, and the governments
imported medicines and food

Environmental Impacts
The flood water deposited fertile silt onto the floodplains
Rivers became polluted with sewage

Human Factors made the impacts

worse
Bangladesh is a poor country therefore there arent many
flood defences or warning systems in place
The low incomes, little saving and insurance the people
have, limited their ability to recover after the flood
Corrupt officials diverted aid away from the people who
needed it most

Carlisle, 2005

The River Eden runs through

North Cumbria and reaches the
sea near Carlisle
The drainage basin of the River
Eden is large so it catches a large
volume of rainfall, which leads to
a high level of discharge
Some parts of the river basin
have steep sides, so water quickly
runs down to the river
There are many streams that
drain into the river, therefore the
lag time is short

On the 8th of January 2005, the

River Eden flooded Carlisle
A large flood such as the one in
2005, normally occurs
every 200 years

Physical Factors
The physical factors were
the main cause of the
flooding
There was heavy rainfall on
the 6th January for 36 hours.
Over 200mm of rainfall was
recorded which is about the
equivalent of four months
rain
Rain fell onto saturated
ground so the water had
nowhere to go, so ran
straight off into the river
This caused a very high
peak discharge, around
1,520 cumecs compared to
the average of 52

Human Factors
The human factors werent the
main cause however they
made the flooding worse
Carlisle is a urban area, with
impermeable concrete and
tarmac, therefore there was
very little infiltration and a
high level of surface runoff
which increased the discharge
The drains and sewers led
straight to the river which
meant water was entering the
river quickly and also the
drains overflowed and 25% of
flooding problems were
associated with the drains

Social Impacts
Three people died
Over 3,000 people were made
homeless for around a year
and thousands of personal
possessions were damaged
Living in temporary
arrangement disrupted peoples
lives because they were
separated from the community
and friends. Also they had
problems receiving post
Four schools were severely
flooded, so many children lost
out on their education
An increase in stress related
illnesses occurred after the
flooding

Economic Impacts
The cost of the damaged was
around 100 million and took a
year to repair damaged homes
350 businesses had to shut
down as there was no
electricity or transport
The largest employer in Carlisle
which was United Biscuits was
floods with 3m of water and 33
out of 1,100 people lost their
job. It also cost 5million to
repair the damage
The sewage works, police
station, fire station and council
offices were severely flooded
Many roads and bridges were
damaged

Environmental Impacts
The flooding increased bank erosion is certain areas
Rivers became polluted with rubbish and sewage