### natural phenomenon:

Flood
* All floods leave sediments covering what they flooded.
* Most flood related deaths occur in motor vehicles.
* Most floods are harmful
  - occur during spring and early summer
* Some flood causes kill animals.
* Some floods develop slowly, but flash floods can happen in just minutes
  - sometimes over a period of days
* Some floods occur seasonally when winter snows melt and combine with spring rains
  - when the water of a lake moves suddenly from side to side in rhythm
  - result from more run-off water than can be contained in the channel of a river bed
* Stay away from power lines and electrical wires.
* affect more regions and more people than any other phenomenon
  - seagrasses um, in different ways
* also contaminate drinking water supplies and back up sewer systems
  - kill muskrats, and fluctuating water levels increase the risk of death
  - maintains the water quality through cycling
  - occur when sudden rises in temperature during the spring quickly melt ice and snow
  - present a potential risk as they can bring water into buildings and over roads
  - recharge ground water supplies
  - take a major toll on the country
* are a common natural hazard
  - occurrence in North Carolina
  - dangerous hazard throughout the world
  - fairly common, yet dangerous, natural disaster
  - major threat to life and property
  - natural process which occur wherever there waterbody
  - serious threat to food security in China
  - very important part of the natural processes which shape river channels
  - also the most costly of all natural disasters in the United States
* are among the biggest weather-related killers
  - most devastating of natural disasters
  - an annual feature in diaras
  - another environmental problem that affects population as well as large productive areas
  - batchs
  - caused by a large amount of rain coming down to fast to be absorbed or moved downstream
* are common and costly natural disasters
  - in West Virginia because of heavy rains and narrow stream valleys
  - dangerous places to play
  - filling
  - flow
  - generally violent and can cause serious damage to agricultural land or inhabited areas
  - irregular because of our climate
  - light
  - likely in low-lying areas from storms, spring thaw, and various other causes
  - more likely because the frequency of intense rainfall is predicted to increase
* are natural and recurring events
  - phenomena
* are one of the most common hazards in the United States
  - destructive of natural disasters
  - part of the dynamic nature of healthy rivers
  - perhaps the most serious risk to aquatic life
* are primarily due to heavy rainfalls persisting over a period of time
  - natural events
  - sudden and deadly
* are the most common and widespread of all weather-related natural disasters
  - disaster in the world
  - form of natural disaster
  - type of natural disaster
  - frequent type of disaster
  - number one natural disaster
  - principal hazards in the lower valleys and plains
  - scariest of all since Vietnam low, flatland country
  - usually harmful to people and homes
  - video games
* bring death but they also sustain life.
* can also cause detrimental effects on the ocean
  - come from the sea
* can also occur when a dam breaks
  - there is little or no rain
  - traumatise victims and their families for long periods of time
  - wipe out an entire crop in a matter of seconds
  - wreak havoc on cellular networks
* can be both beneficial to societies or cause damage
  - slow, or fast rising but generally develop over a period of days
  - such devastating disasters that anyone can be affected at almost anytime
  - very slow or fast rising, but generally develop over a period of days
  - bruise, break, knockout, and even kill humans with ease
* can cause a horrifying amount of damage
  - brief periods of heavy erosion
  - extreme destruction to cropland and river environments
  - massive damage when they happen unexpectedly
  - millions of dollars in damage
  - change the course of a river in a few days
  - deposite rich, fertile alluvium on agricultural areas
* can destroy drainage systems in cities
  - property and kill people
  - develo p over a period of days or, in the case of flash floods, very rapidly
* can happen anytime, anywhere
  - anywhere and at any time
  - even in drought and low snowpack years
* can have catastrophic consequences, wreaking uncontrollable havoc
  - effects on people, economy and environment
* can occur any time of the year
  - anywhere, but some places are more at risk than others
  - due to broken water mains, runoff from heavy rains as well as storm surges
* can occur in a variety of ways and fall under different categories
  - low-lying areas due to rising rivers, creeks, gullies and culverts
  - the cold, dormant winter period or at the height of hot summer weather
  - without any visible rainfall
  - put pilot lights out that can lead to leaking
  - strike anywhere and anytime
  - take several hours to days to develop
* cause a desire to climbs
  - disasters, but they can also be beneficial
* cause more damage nationwide than any other natural disaster
  - personal and property loss than all types of natural hazards combined
  - rivers to overflow their banks, and some animals to retreat to higher ground
  - the most weather related deaths in the United States
  - vast amounts of destruction and financial burden in the United States each year
* caused by heavy rain are the most common type of river flood in Iowa
  - monsoon rains are an annual occurrence in the Middle Kingdom, of course
* come early in the year and drought follows in the summer
  - in all shapes and sizes
* constitute one of the most destructive natural hazards facing Montana.
* create muddy surfaces which makes transportation difficult for children that attend school.
* deposit huge amounts of silt into down stream reservoirs and river valleys
  - new sediment each year
* destroy drainage systems in cities, causing raw sewage to spill out into bodies of water
  - the household resources, undermining the economic well-being of rural women
* devastate summer crops, destroy homes, and drown people and livestock.
* do much of the work of shaping river channels and valleys through erosion and deposition.
* fill with a color or texture
  - texture or a color
* form a part of nature's fury that has imperiled man through the ages.
* generally rise and fall slowly, although flash floods occasionally occur in the basin.
* happen all over the country
  - more frequently than any other natural hazard
  - when water flow is greater than carrying capacity
* happen, and they happen beside rivers, on the coast, in deserts and on city streets.
* have immense power
  - rendering millions of people homeless or without adequate shelter
* help flush water systems and carry nutrients to nearby areas like floodplains
  - spread organic material, nutrients, and sediments which enrich floodplain soils
* hurt people, and destroy homes, businesses and crops.
* incur millions of dollars in financial losses each year.
* inundate some parts of the world, while others are parched
  - the forest nearly every year, transforming the land
* kill people and destroy homes in many parts of the United States every year.
* lead to upsurges of cholera, malaria and Rift Valley fever.
* move, and can spread for miles.
* occur almost anywhere
  - around coastal regions
  - both from spring snowmelt runoff and large summer rainstorms
  - in every state and territory
  - mostly in the spring from snowmelt runoff
* occur when streams overflow their banks
  - water covers land which is normally dry
* often affect the operation of fire pumps, as well
  - destroy many rabbits, both in the spring and in the fall
* only produce clastic deposits like mud.
* result from an overabundance of rainfall, droughts from a lack of rainfall
  - when circulating water escapes from hoses that burst or have connections that fail
* rob people of memories and leave terrible new memories in their place.
* systematically replenish and reshape land, vegetation, fish, and wildlife.
* tear down riverbanks and carry sediment downstream to form new gravel bars.
* tend to affect a large number of people in the same area.
* typically get the most headlines when waters are about to crest.
* usually result from events such as a large amount of precipitation or the failure of a dam
  - take several days or so to develop
+ Gunnedah, New South Wales, Geography: Towns in New South Wales
  * Gunnedah Shire is 264 metres above sea level on the Liverpool Plains in the Namoi River valley. It is very flat. The tallest hills are only 200 metres above the flat plains. The climate is hot in summer, mild in winter and dry. Rainstorms occasionally cause flooding of the Namoi River. Floods can cut transport links to the town and cut it off from the outside world.