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 (Washington DC, USA)
(August 22, 1997)
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