Key Topics:
Examine the role of hydrographs in forecasting the magnitude, spatial extent and timing of floods.
Discuss the natural and human causes and consequences of a specific river flood.
The Pakistan Floods of 2010
Whilst researching the Pakistan Flood you should consider a range of issues.
The first point to consider is some background information on the flood. It’s location, the timing of the flood and the extent of the affected area in both human and physical terms. A key part of this is to look at the Storm Hydrographs for the river during the flood event.
Task 1:
Write a short summary of the flood including information on the affected area, the number of people affected, which areas were worst affected. Make sure to include dates, times and other numerical data wherever possible.
Task 2:
Click on the geographypods.com banner and scroll down to the Pakistan floods section. Work through the tasks examining the hydrographs for the Pakistan flood.
How does the information from the flood hydrographs enable us to forecast the magnitude, spatial extent and timing of floods? Could the information be used to reduce the impact of future floods?
Task 3: The Causes of the Flood:
the-chances-of-a-river-flooding-after-a-period-of-rain-are-determined-by-na.pdf
In order to fully understand why the flood occurred it is important to consider both the human and physical factors and be able to discuss the relative importance of both. Whilst the flood may be the result of heavy rain within the drainage basin, how did human activity within the drainage basin affect the magnitude of the flood and its impact on the area? Do humans make a bad flood even worse? Do the social and economic conditions within a country have an affect on the flood and its impact?
Complete the word document below using specific examples from the Pakistan flood. The information you need can be found by following the links at the bottom of the page.
Causes of the Pakistan Flood.docx
Task 4: The impact of the flood
The second task looks at the natural and human consequences of the Pakistan Floods. Work through the tasks from the geographypods.com site. You will need to scroll down to the Pakistan Flood section.
Useful Links on the Pakistan Floods.
[ https://www.diigo.com/list/Jbrocklehurst/Pakistan-Flood/rss.xml]
Exam Questions :
Explain how human activities on a floodplain can increase the probability of flooding. (10 marks)
Explain how hydrographs are used to forecast floods. (6 marks)
“People should not try to prevent rivers from flooding.” Discuss this statement. (10 marks)
With reference to a named river flood event, examine the relative importance of natural and human causes. (10 marks)
Explain how two physical factors other than precipitation can affect the magnitude of floods. (3+3 marks)
Further examples and case studies: