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Can You Identify the 3 Types of Flooding? | SERVPRO® of North Fort Worth

4/10/2022 (Permalink)

image of a street completely submerged in water with a flood warning sign sitting in roadway Regardless of the cause of the flooding, SERVPRO of North Fort Worth has the team to help you recover from any disastrous event.

Of all the natural disasters, flooding is the most common in the world. It causes more casualties in the United States per year than hurricanes, tornadoes or lightning, affecting everything from single residences to wide swaths of communities and cities.

Every single state and U.S. territory is affected by flooding, and there are actually similar types and causes of flooding. There are three common types of flooding, and they happen for four typical reasons.

3 Types of Natural Flooding

Flash floods are common, and they happen when heavy rain passes or sits over an area and overwhelms the ability of the ground to contain the moisture. Excess water runs off and takes garbage cans, cars and more with it.

River floods are exactly what they sound like. When there’s too much water for a river’s banks to hold, the water spills over the sides and causes destruction.

Coastal floods happen in areas next to large bodies of water, when storm surges or cyclonic activity causes ocean or gulf levels to rise to flood levels.

4 Most Common Causes of Natural Flooding

Heavy rainfall. Storms with excessive rainfall, or storms that sit and rest over an area for an extended period, can cause flash floods or river flooding. Urban areas are more at risk for rain floods, because the higher percentage of concrete and asphalt means there’s a lack of soil to soak up all that water.

The most deadly flooding in Fort Worth’s history occurred in 1949. As this article describes, there were “people in trees and horses on roofs.” The Carswell Air Force Base dispatched 100 military police officers to the flooded zones to discourage any criminal activity. The Red Cross estimated around 13,000 people were displaced or homeless as a result of the record-breaking flooding.

Oceanic activity. Storm surges, hurricanes and rising tides can cause water levels to rise in waves, which can invade coastal communities and wreak havoc.

Dams and levees failing. The most notable example of this in recent history would be the disastrous levee breaks during 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Levees and dams fail when cracks occur or excess pressure overtakes the dam’s ability to contain the surge of water behind it.

Snowmelts and ice dams. In areas of the country where heavy snow and prolonged freezing temperatures are common, snow and ice can build up over a winter’s time, and when they start to melt, they cause rivers of water to flow through area communities. Ice dams or ice jams happen when rivers become blocked by built-up ice being carried downstream, causing the banks to overflow.

Regardless of the cause of the flooding, SERVPRO has the tools and teams to help your home or business recover from its disastrous effects. Contact us anytime when flooding or water damage makes a mess in your life.

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