What causes flash floods and the floods that took place this summer in
Poland?
Flash floods are floods that happen very fast and with little warning.
They are very dangerous. A heavy rain or an accident like a dam breaking
can cause one.
Sometimes the ground can't soak up water. The water doesn't have any
place to go but downstream. Sometimes a city at the base of a mountain
can get hit by a flash flood even if it's sunny because the rain can come
down the mountain.
Dams are made to hold a lot of water. They block rivers so people can
have water. If a dam were to break, then all that water would rush down
the river and cause a flash flood.
The floods in Poland this summer were a different kind of flooding. The
ground was full of water because the area had gotten a lot of rain. Then
one Saturday it began to rain again and didn't stop for a long time. By
Monday areas were beginning to flood. If you want to know more about the
flood in Poland, check here.
Submitted by Leah (age 26, Washington DC, USA)
(August 22, 1997)
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