How To Control Floods - Storm & Cyclone Disaster

Rivers are in flood in some parts of world every year. Floods cause large scale death of human beings and animals and destruction of property, crops, trees and vegetation. They disrupt the road and rail communication systems badly and cause suspension of regular bus and train services. Even airports and runways are affected and air services can be suspended. Electric poles are uprooted and gas and oil pipes are rendered (causes to become) unserviceable. Bridges are washed away disconnecting one region (wide area) from another. The advanced countries like the US, Russia and China have controlled floods in a big way. It is worthwhile (rewarding) to learn their methods of river and flood control. It is also advisable to plan the use and diversion of flood waters in times of emergency. The four provinces of our country and the neighbouring areas from where glaciers melt or water flows into our rivers in any form should all be associated with our water programmes and policies.

Firstly, the main cause of floods is, of course, excessive (too much) rainfall on the mountains and in the catchment areas. The rainwater flows into the rivers that overflow their banks on the plains. The flood waters enter all the low lying areas near or at a distance from the rivers. They spare neither villages nor towns nor cities. Secondly, storm and cyclones (circular strong winds) and hurricanes (violent storms) join the sea waves and cause the flooding of the coastal areas on a wide scale. Such flooding took place in Southern Sindh and Makran in Balochistan in the past and recently in 2007. Thirdly, there are breaches in the existing dams or water reservoirs causing the inundation (flooding) of wide areas, destruction of whole villages and towns. The people of interior Sindh and Balochistan faced such a situation several times. The danger of the bursting of the Mirani dam in Balochistan forced the people in the adjoining areas to flee to safer places causing them great hardship. There was acute (very great) shortage of food items, drinking water and medicines and the prices of goods of daily use shot up abnormally in the flood affected areas.

The need to control floods in the country is paramount (supreme). For this, big dams across the rivers may be constructed. The floodwater that goes waste or cause large scale destruction can be stored in them. Some empty dams or reservoirs, natural or manmade, may be kept lying for emergencies so that the extra floodwater may be fed into them. This water can be used later in the dry season for agriculture purposes. The courses of the rivers may also be changed to facilitate free flow of water into the sea. Or the rivers can be made to flow over low lying areas that can be converted (changed) into lakes with floodwater. The riverbeds can be dug deeper by the armed forces and labour force. Water passages or channels parallel to the already existing rivers and canals may be dug with modern machines.

Natural Disasters Tsunami Earthquake

1. The introduction. What are natural disasters?
2. The natural disasters of 2004 and 2005 in the world.
3. How can we protect ourselves from natural disasters?
4. The conclusion. What the developing countries should do.
    Natural disasters or catastrophes can be controlled up to a point, and most of us often feel helpless before them. A natural disaster is an unexpected event such as a violent storm, flood, earthquake, lightning, landslides (masses of earth, rock, etc. falling down from above) the attack of locusts (winged insects attacking fields in very large numbers) and the spread of diseases from birds or animals (bird flu, etc.). When lightning strikes a moving ship, plane, building, or a number of people anywhere, it is considered to be a natural disaster.
   We witnessed natural disasters one after another in 2004 and 2005. There was a series of massive Asian tsunamis (Attacks of sea waves) in South-East Asia which were the result of earthquakes in the depths of oceans. They shook and moved islands, hit seacoasts and caused thousands of deaths and large-scale destruction. Then there were heavy floods and rainfall in Balochistan that caused a large number of deaths and extensive damage to dams, roads, and fields. In line with these disasters (calamities or catastrophes) was the earthquake of 2005 in our nothern areas that caused, in a way uncountable (countless) deaths and massive destruction. Whole villages, towns and cities were wiped out and tens of thousand of people got killed or made homeless. The mighty storm that hit the US in 2005, names Katrina, was no less destructive.
   Now the question arises: what can we do to protect ourselves from natural disasters of the above kind? Firstly, we should have advance warning systems for storms and floods. We can then make timely preparations to face them. Secondly, there is urgent need to start research on the changes under the surface of the earthquake predictions or forecasts.
   When forecasts for earthquakes or natural disasters are not possible, we should use all the available resources to face them. The government and people should get together to help the affected people and countries. The UN and other world agencies can arrange and supervise the rehabilitation work. This did happen in the case of the tsunamis, Kitrina, and our earthquake most prominently.
   The world should set up disaster information centres in each of the five continents. The advanced countries should offer knowledge and resources to these centres for forecasts of all kinds of natural disasters. They should have arrangements of money, food, clothing, house building, and vehicles for ready help. Different countries should have information and assistance centres in all their provinces.
   The developing countries like ours should attend to the education of all the people on the most modern lines. Educated and trained people can better face natural disasters intelligently and successfully.
You can read more about these natural disasters here:
http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2011/03/16-japan-disaster-kaufmann