Week 5 Discussion. Factors Affecting River Flooding.

Factors Affecting River Flooding
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Factors Affecting River Flooding
River flooding occurs when the river's capacity is exceeded, forcing the excess water to be distributed over the banks of the river. Natural factors that affect the flooding in waterways include:
The nature and size of the river – A river with a reduced capacity is likely to flood since excessive water flow disrupts normal water functioning, causing water spillage. Therefore, a small river with lower capacity experiences flooding in case of increased water flow.
Vegetation on or along river bed – Vegetation reduces the flow of water in a river, thus increasing the risk of flooding. The vegetation causes an increase in the river's water levels, especially with increased flows along the river coupled with the reduced water speed.
Water levels in outlets – the level of water in river outlets may cause flooding in cases where water levels are already high in the outlets. This hampers the release of water into the outlets such as oceans causing increased water levels in the river itself that may lead to flooding.
The slope of drainage basin – Steep slopes that contain impermeable rocks and lack any form of vegetation have reduced water absorption abilities, thus likely to cause river flooding.
Intensive precipitation – An increase in rainfall over a short time along dry river beds leads to flooding due to the water's inability to infiltrate the soil (Grodek, 2020).
On the other hand, human factors have further impacted flooding along rivers due to increased land-use activities. Firstly, an increase in the rate of urbanization, that increases structures and reduces vegetation, has increased the impermeability of land surfaces that channel the water into the drainage. The increased collection of water into channels increases the risk of flooding since water collects quick...