Case studies for flooding

Case studies

• Flooding case studies for GCSE geography.

South Asia-LIC/LEDC

• 
• This flooding was caused by the Brahmaputra and Ganges rivers. It happened in July/August of 2007.
• It mainly affected India and Bangladesh.
• Caption: South Asia, with India + Bangladesh circled.

Causes

• Heavy rainfall - in one area, 900mm of rain fell in July. This saturated the soil, which ended up increasing the runoff.
• Melting snow - glaciers from the Himalayan mountains melted, increasing discharge in the Brahmaputra river.
• The peak discharge of both rivers happened at the same time, which increased discharge downstream.

Primary effects

• Over 2000 deaths
• Around 25 million people made homeless
• 44 schools were completely destroyed
• Many factories closed and many livestock were killed
• 120,000 houses destroyed in India
• 10,000km of roads were destroyed
• Rivers were polluted with rubbish and sewage

Secondary effects

• Children lost out on education - over 4000 schools were affected by the floods.
• Around 100k people caught waterborne diseases such as dysentry and diarrhoea.
• Flooded fields reduced basmati rice yeilds - prices rose by 10%
• Many farmers and factory workers became unemployed.

Immediate response

• Many people didn't evacuate from flooded areas, which blocked transport, which slowed down any attempted evacuations.
• Other governments and international charities distributed food, water and medical aid. Technical equipment like rescue boats were also sent to those who had been stranded.

Long-term effects

• International charities funded the rebuilding of homes, agriculture and fishing industries.
• Some homes/buildings have been rebuilt on stilts, so they're less likely to be flooded in the future.

England -HIC/MEDC

• 
• This case study happened in Carlisle, England, on the 8th of January, 2005. The river that caused the flooding was the Eden river.

Causes

• Heavy rainfall - 200mm of rain fell in 36 hours. This saturated the soil, increasing the runoff.
• Land use - Carlisle is a large urban area, which means that it is covered in impermeable materials such as concrete and asphalt. This also increased the runoff.
• The river discharge reached 1520 cumecs (to put it into comparison, the average discharge for the Eden river is 52 cumecs.)

Primary effects

• 3 deaths
• 3000 people made homeless
• 4 schools were severely flooded
• 350 businesses closed down as a result of the flood
• 70,000 people lost electricity
• Roads and bridges were damaged
• The nearby rivers were polluted with rubbish and sewage

Secondary effects

• Children lost out on education (one school was closed for months)
• Stress-related illnesses increased
• 3000 jobs at risk

Immediate response

• Flooded areas were evacuated
• Many reception areas were opened and provided food and drink for those affected.
• Temporary accomodation was set up.

Long term responses

• Community support offering emotional and practical help
• Flood defense schemes were set up - for example, banks were put up on the river Eden.