A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land.[1] The European Union (EU) Floods Directive defines a flood as a covering by water of land not normally covered by water.[2] In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Flooding may result from the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake, which overflows or breaks levees, with the result that some of the water escapes its usual boundaries.
While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, it is not a significant flood unless such escapes of water endanger land areas used by man like a village, city or other inhabited area.
Floods can also occur in rivers, when flow exceeds the capacity of the river channel, particularly at bends or meanders. Floods often cause damage to homes and businesses if they are placed in natural flood plains of rivers. While flood damage can be virtually eliminated by moving away from rivers and other bodies of water, since time out of mind, people have lived and worked by the water to seek sustenance and capitalize on the gains of cheap and easy travel and commerce by being near water. That humans continue to inhabit areas threatened by flood damage is evidence that the perceived value of living near the water exceeds the cost of repeated periodic flooding.
The word "flood" comes from the Old English flod, a word common to Germanic languages (compare German Flut, Dutch vloed from the same root as is seen in flow, float; also compare with Latin fluctus, flumen). Deluge myths are mythical stories of a great flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution, and are featured in the mythology of many cultures.
Flooded areas of land usually start off as very dry land. Floods are caused by heavy rains that pour to much water into rivers and other waterways. Making these natural channels unable to carry all the water. Rising water flows over or breaks the banks to the waterways causing the surrounding land to be flooded. Different causes of floods can come from masses of snow melting of tidal waves.
In late December 2006, widespread flooding hit eastern and central Aceh and parts of neighboring
North Sumatra province. Heavy rains caused rivers to burst their banks. Deforestation caused by
widespread logging—much of it illegal—contributed to the problem. Seven Acehnese districts were
affected: Aceh Tamiang, Aceh Timur, Bireuen and Aceh Utara on the east coast; and Aceh Tengah,
Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues in‐land. As flood levels rose in the last week of December, hundreds of
thousands of people were displaced from their homes. Aceh Tamiang, in particular, was heavily
affected with a large proportion of the district under water.
The Government responded quickly and also requested donor and NGO assistance. A coordination
team, led by Satkorlak (Provincial Coordinating Body for Disaster Management) was established and
a command center was set up in Lhokseumawe. The acting district head for Aceh Utara was given Aceh
responsibility for coordination on the ground. Emergency supplies (rice, tents, medicine) were
delivered to affected areas. The Government requested that the office of the United Nations
Recovery Coordinator for Aceh and Nias (UNORC) coordinate donor assistance, in particular for Aceh
Tamiang district
AFFECTED POPULATIONS
The floods affected over half a million people, but fortunately deaths and injuries were relatively
low. 512,879 people live in affected villages. The survey indicated that there were 47 deaths, 7,887
heavy injuries (1.5% of affected population), and 573 light injuries. The majority of deaths occurred
in Aceh Tamiang (65%), whereas most injuries occurred in Aceh Tamiang and Aceh Utara (44% and
48% respectively). Table 2 summarizes deaths, injuries (heavy and light), and the affected
population for the seven affected districts.
Of those affected by the floods, 39% (201,991 persons) are of productive age and the majority
(126,251) are farmers. Given that the floods damaged over 50% of both fields and gardens in
affected areas, the livelihoods of the vast majority of those affected has been seriously disrupted.
The poor make up 27% of flood‐affected households.
The impacts of the flood on this group will
likely be greater than for others, as they do not have the same social and economic safety nets as the
better off. Ensuring the floods do not push the poor deeper into poverty and the “near‐poor” back
into poverty should be a priority of those responding to the floods.
