Flood Management AQA GCSE

Flood Management AQA GCSE

1. Hard engineering

   • Embankments: raising the level of the river bank.
   • Flood Relief channels; concrete channels to make the river bypass urban areas.
   • Dams and Reservoirs: artificial lakes that control water and prevent large amounts of water flow
   • Channel straightening: cutting off meanders to speed up water flow.

2. Soft engineering

   • Afforestation: planting trees
   • Wetland areas: river floodplains that store water
   • Floodplain zoning: allocating certain areas for specific use (i.e river banks are not for housing)
   • River restoration: using natural river features (meanders and wetlands) to reduce flooding

3. Preparation

   • Flood warnings: 3 different levels
   • Satellite and computer tracking/imaging
   • Making houses flood proof i.e moving valuables upstairs
   • Sandbags
   • Floodgates
   • Emergency services and local authorities map floods and prioritise at risk areas.