Flooding hazards depend upon both weather and geologic phenomena, typically affecting floodplain regions near streams or rivers and low-lying areas near the coasts. Flooding can be caused by a number of things, including: storm surges along the coast, “overflowing” streams and rivers resulting from heavy rainfall, ice jam flooding (which is of particular concern in Alaska during breakup), tsunami inundation, and more. Humans tend to populate regions near the coast or along rivers and streams because of plentiful resources and good farmlands, thus putting themselves at risk for flooding.
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Science Topics and Resources for Flooding Hazards:
Week 1: Basic science – follow the steps below to learn the basics. Week 1 assignments are given in the Case Study 1 page
1) Read the following articles and websites. The first covers basic stream and river processes and the second FEMA article discusses different types of flooding hazards, including those not related to streams, like tsunamis.
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Week 2 – Monitoring and mitigation – follow the steps below to learn the basics. Week 2 assignments are given in the Case Study 1 page
1) Read the following publications about flood monitoring, hazards, and mitigation:
- US Geological Survey publication describing the Streamgauge Program
- State Flood Mitigation Programs and Information
- Social Science perspective on flood events
2) Play Stop Disasters Game: You are in charge of mitigating a flood disaster!
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Week 3 and Case Study Report – Assignment is given on the Case Study 1 and 2 pages. For Case Study 2, you are required to provide one additional paragraph comparing and contrasting your two case studies disasters.