Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Some Of The World's Worst Floods

Civilizations believed to have started in the riverbanks and waterfronts as trade and industry flourished along bodies of water. Since time out of mind, people have lived along these bodies of water despite knowing the dangers and havoc it can bring such as floods, deaths and disease. Wikipedia defines flood as the overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. Floods can occur in rivers when the capacity of the river channels exceeds the flow of water thus resulting to overflow or breakage of levees resulting to the escape of water beyond its boundaries.

On August 29, 2005, a moderate Category 1 hurricane was looming above the skies of Southern Florida. On a Monday morning of August 29, 2005, it became a Category 3 hurricane in the sleeping city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Hours of storm catastrophically flooded the entire city and floodwaters moved inland. Eventually, 80% of the city was under water and lingered for weeks leaving the city out-of-reach for days. Meanwhile, all the Mississippi beach front towns were 90% flooded within hours such that boats and casino barges rammed buildings, houses and cars were pushed by floodwater current inland. Hurricane Katrina, which was considered the costliest natural disaster of America, brought about an estimated $81 billion worth of property damages in the Bush administration.

On Saturday, September 26, 2009, tropical storm Ondoy, considered the deadliest ever, hit the Philippines, particularly Metro Manila and Central Luzon region were submerged in deep water affecting millions of properties and thousands of families displaced. The destruction further increased as series of flash floods occurred up to 20 feet deep in some rural areas. The Marikina River transformed the streets into rivers while the Angat Dam, a water reservoir, released about 500 cubic meters per second. At the height of the flooding, about 100,000 liters of bunker oil was spilled from a paper manufacturing company in from a nearby city, thus spilling oil all over the city. Estimated property loss was at about US$200 million and cost of restoration of infrastructure was even bigger.

In November and December, 2009, European windstorms brought heavy rains and gale force winds caused heavy rains and great flooding in the Southern UK. A number of bridges collapsed and a number of deaths occurred. Simultaneously, Cork, Ireland's 40 per cent population lost its water supply for almost two weeks after a treatment plant was contaminated by flood water.

After all the flooding, a monumental task for every city or country of draining the city streets looms ahead. No amount of manual labor could ever accomplish such a huge task. How could tons of flood water be evacuated out of city streets and homes?

Draining flood water from your home manually now belongs to the distant past as state-of-the-art technology has brought more comfort right at your doorsteps. Industrial pumps have arrived to assist you to accomplish your everyday household chores in minutes. If your neighborhood is suffering from constant flooding, then it is high time that you check Armstrong pumps. A B&G pump might be the answer to your problem.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Pierce

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