Floods
By: Michael Allaby ; illustrations by Richard Garratt
Edition: Rev. ed.
Series: Facts on File science library; Dangerous weather; Facts on File science library
Publisher: Facts On File
Published: 2003
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] /
Number of pages: 196
ISBN-13: 9781438108650
Subjects: JUVENILE NONFICTION; Science & Nature; Floods; Water (Oceans, Lakes, etc.); Earth Sciences; Juvenile literature
Description: In July 2002, floods in eastern and central Texas were so severe that many counties were declared disaster areas and eight people lost their lives. In August 2002, in central and eastern Europe, flooding caused dozens of deaths and untold damage to irreplaceable cultural and historic sites. In Asia, during the summer of 2002, at least 1,800 people died from flooding. There are floods throughout the world every year, many of them devastating and deadly. In Floods, Revised Edition, author Michael Allaby has substantially altered, expanded, and in some places rewritten the original text to reflect recent findings and new information on this form of severe weather. Three new chapters explain storms and cloudbursts, thunder and lightning, and monsoons in greater detail. Many new and revised sidebars display explanations or interesting pieces of information about floods and flooding. They explain concepts from atmospheric science, such as partial pressure and vapor pressure; charge separation in storm clouds; and glacioisostasy, as well as explaining why it rains more on mountainsides than it does in valleys. New further reading lists at the conclusion of the book stimulate further research. Students will find this book comprehensive and useful as it explains the phenomenon in clear and accessible language.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 182-187) and index.

Description based on print version record.
Table of contents: title: Where floods happen : El Nino; title: Evaporation, precipitation, and transpiration : partial pressure and vapor pressure ; humidity; title: How the land drains; title: Rivers : why it rains more on mountainsides ; kinetic energy; title: Floodplains and meanders : the Bernoulli effect; title: Flash floods; title: Storms and cloudbursts : lapse rates and stability ; latent heat and dewpoint; title: Thunder and lightning : charge separation; title: Tsunamis : tsunami warning system; title: Tides : laws of motion ; the Coriolis effect; title: Tidal surges : air pressure, highs and lows; title: Monsoons : intertropical convergence and the equatorial trough; title: Aquifers, springs, and wells; title: Vegetation and natural drainage; title: The Nile floods and the Aswan Dams; title: Wet rice farming; title: Coastal erosion : glacioisostasy ; Isle of the Dead; title: Saltwater infiltration : osmosis; title: Flood damage; title: Floods and soil erosion : soil erosion; title: Floods of the past; title: Land dranage; title: Wetlands; title: Levees; title: Dams; title: Canalization; title: Flood prediction; title: Safety.