Dangers of flash floods
Randy Mann.
JAKE PARRISH/Press
We haven’t written much about flooding with this drought situation, but flash floods are among the most dangerous types of flooding because they can develop rapidly, sometimes within minutes or hours. They occur when water accumulates faster than the ground, streams, rivers, and drainage systems can absorb or carry it away. The most common cause is intense rainfall, particularly from thunderstorms that produce large amounts of rain over a short period of time.
Flash floods usually cause more fatalities in the United States in an average year than lightning, tornadoes, or hurricanes. They can also deposit large quantities of sediments on floodplains and destroy vegetation cover not adapted to frequent flood conditions, especially in drier areas.
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